A Doomed Existence
by Pigwidgeon1706
Summary: Things are changing in the Wizarding World; the Death Eaters, once only possibly linked to disappearances and deaths, are now coming out in the open, wreaking havoc everywhere. It's not a good time to be a Muggle-born, especially when you're a reckless Gryffindor, doomed by a prophecy. It's not a good time to be Lily Evans. But Lily's not one for giving e's a fighter.ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: alas, the Harry Potter universe belongs to J. K. Rowling but I do claim credit for the storyline. Everything else is hers!**

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Chapter One

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_Doomed._

How that word had haunted her since third year. She had chosen Divination at the time to quench her curiosity of the Wizarding World. Being a Muggle-born, everything at Hogwarts had seemed, well, magical and she had craved to know more and more about it. The ability to predict the future had seemed to be just what she was looking for. Whether she was a Seer or not didn't matter because all she wanted to do was learn.

And she wasn't a Seer. Lily could read symbols in tea leaves easily enough, there was no magic behind that, but she could no near see something in a crystal ball than she could tell what Marlene McKinnon was thinking. Severus had warned her against the subject, told her it was a waste of time, but something about the perfumed North Tower in which the lessons took place drew a kind of hunger from her.

At least for the first few weeks.

Then, on one fateful afternoon, when she had loitered behind to ask Professor Acranum a question about the homework, everything changed.

'You are doomed.' he had told her, indicating she take a seat in front of his purple-flamed fire. 'The fates have informed me. You are doomed. You will die, betrayed by one you call a friend, defenceless against the one who wields the knife.'

Acranum had always been dramatic, springing out of nowhere to inform a student they would catch the flu the following week, and Lily a teacher-shy thirteen-year-old, who nodded at whatever her teachers said. She had simply thanked him and left, the question about her homework completely forgotten.

She hadn't cared particularly about his warning of how she would die; why should she? She was only thirteen and her life had encountered nothing to make her fear such a thing. Death seemed so long away that she couldn't bring herself to care about it. But the first part, her doom, that bothered her.

Because doom didn't just refer to her death. It referred to her life too.

…

The train screeched to an abrupt halt, throwing Lily's head violently off the window it had been resting on. Marlene sniggered from opposite her but hastily fell silent when she saw Lily glance in her direction, her face sliding back into its usual neutrality, her copy of _Witch Weekly_ rising to hide her face. Shaking her head slightly, Lily glanced about at the others in the compartment.

Dorcas stood in the doorway, clinging onto it, still swaying about as she recovered from the violent lurch a second ago. Emmaline was blinking slowly, recovering from the rough awakening from her nap. Mary was cursing down at the spilled nail varnish staining her robes; and Hestia was sprawled on the ground, wincing as she tried to stand up.

'We can't be there already, can we?' Emmaline asked the group at large, slapping her cheeks to regain complete consciousness.

'Must be.' Mary replied, checking the elegantly expensive watch on her wrist for confirmation. 'We always pull into Hogsmeade around eight.'

'Well, they didn't have to making me fall over in the process.' Hestia muttered, pulling herself up on one of the seats as Dorcas chuckled.

'Should've held on like I told you.' she said, and Hestia rolled her eyes as she got to her feet.

'Yeah but we all know Hestia wouldn't know what listening is if it slapped her in the face.' Lily piped up evenly, wiping away some of the condensation on the window to peer outside.

'I _cannot_ wait to get off this train.' Mary declared, stretching her arms and legs out in front of her. 'If I stay in this stuffy compartment for any longer, I'll die.'

'You'll be dying pretty soon then, Mary.' Lily informed her casually, smirking as she squinted through the window, her nose touching the cold glass. 'I hate to be that person, but we aren't at Hogsmeade. All I can see is trees.'

'What?' Mary squawked, rushing over and pressing her face against the window to verify Lily's statement. 'For Merlin's sake!'

'Why have we stopped – if we're not at Hogsmeade?' Emmaline said, frowning. 'We never usually stop.'

'Maybe there's a tree across the tracks.' Dorcas suggested, unconcerned. 'It was windy earlier.'

'Maybe we're all about to be murdered.' Lily contributed, and Mary elbowed her.

'Keep your cynical jokes to yourself until we get to school.' she scolded, while Lily grinned. 'I can't deal with that side of your humour on an empty stomach.'

'You're hungry?' Dorcas snorted. 'What about all those cauldron cakes you ate?'

'But that was _hours_ ago.' Mary dismissed, leaving Lily by the window and squeezing past those standing in the compartment in the direction of the door. 'I'll check the corridor. Maybe someone else knows what's going on.'

But there was no need for Mary to investigate for the answer to the question on everyone's mind came floating through the tannoy.

'Attention all students.' a voice said. 'We have been tipped off that there is an ambush awaiting us at Hogsmeade station. As such, we have made the decision that the students will evacuate the train now and walk to the school entrance. There will be members of staff along the route and your luggage can be left on the tr–'

'What do they mean there's an ambush –' Mary began in a rather loud whisper but stopped when everyone in the compartment shushed her.

'– Please could the first, second, third, sixth and seventh years report to the front of the train. Those in fourth and fifth year, please vacate the train and head North from the right-hand side of the train. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick will be waiting to accompany you. Thank you.'

The girls turned to each other.

'What in the name of Merlin's going on?' Mary said, voicing what they were all thinking.

There was silence for a moment.

'We'd better go to the front of the train.' Dorcas decided finally and the others nodded. 'Don't forget your wands.'

They filed out but Lily stopped, noting Marlene hadn't moved. The others didn't notice.

'Coming, Marlie?' she said, watching her expectantly. Marlene nodded, slowly folding her magazine and slipping it into the pocket of her robes.

The corridors were absolute chaos. Students were running left, right and centre, the entire thing a huge mess as some battled to leave the train whilst being swept up in the throng moving towards the front of the train. People kept shouting, trying to find their friends. Everyone was moving in clumps, causing congestion, and several people were completely bowled over by the crowd.

Lily almost tripped over a little girl, who had been knocked over in the confusion.

'First year?' she asked, pulling her upright as Marlene shuffled her feet behind them, scowling at some fifth-year boys, who had stopped to laugh. 'Right, you come with Marlie and me.'

'Someone get the baby a tissue.' one of them cooed.

'Clear off, you lot.' Lily snapped at them while Marlene increased her glaring in their direction. 'You're supposed to be getting _off_ the train.'

'You're not a prefect. You can't tell us what to do.' another one jeered smugly.

'No, but I can hex you.' she replied mildly, producing her wand. 'Your choice.'

They wrenched open the nearest door to the outside and piled out, Lily smirking in a self-satisfied way before chivvying the first-year forwards and pulling Marlene along with her. Their hold up had brought them to the back of the crowd so the rest of their journey to the front of the train had no other delays.

When they reached their destination, Lily steered the little girl to the cluster of her peers near the where the Head girl and boy were standing, ready to address the students in front of them. She slipped back to where Dorcas, Mary, Emmeline, Hestia and Marlene were hovering, waiting alongside everyone else for the Head team to speak.

'Could all the third-year and below students come to the front please?' the Head girl, Alice Prewett, instructed, the encouraging smile on her face slightly ruined by the way she was wringing her hands. 'Thank you.'

'We need two sixth or seventh years to accompany a group of younger students to the castle. Could you get into pairs while we sort out the groups?' Frank Longbottom, the Head boy, looked similarly false with his cheerfulness. His posture was altogether stiff and the reassuring grin he gave the crowd was more of a grimace than anything else.

Lily smiled at Marlene, who nodded stiffly, her face unreadable, her fist clenching tightly around her wand. Mary partnered with Dorcas, and Emmeline partnered with Hestia.

Once the groups had been decided, Alice and Frank started calling forth pairs of older students and, once paired, they would leave through the open door to the side of them. The number of students in the train slowly thinned.

'Lily, Marlene, this is your group.' Alice said eventually, beckoning them forward. The girls obeyed and Lily recognised the same little girl they had rescued earlier. She smiled in recognition.

Their herd left the train, Lily taking the front and Marlene the rear, both of them with their wands out, looking alert. The exits from the train were on the left-hand side so the group was forced to walk around the first carriage and clamber over the locks connecting it to the next carriage. Lily and Marlene helped the younger students across and then regrouped on the right side.

'I don't know if it's a good idea to light our wands.' Lily murmured to Marlene. 'By the looks of things, the other groups haven't.'

Marlene nodded, glancing at the dense wood that awaited them.

'Right.' Lily said to the group at large, conjuring a large rope. 'I want you all to hold onto this. It's going to be really dark once we get into those woods and I don't want anyone to get lost. If you need to let go for any reason, tug and we'll all stop.'

Obediently, everyone took a bit of rope to hold onto and, with a look of approval from Marlene, Lily led the way into the forest. There was a little moonlight from the half moon hanging in the sky so, if Lily strained her eyes a little, she could make out the tree stumps and sticks on the forest floor. On the horizon she could just see the group before them disappear over the small hill this wood sprawled over, a massive figure waving them on. Hagrid.

With much panting and a stitch growing in her midriff, Lily started to ascend the hill, her eyes flitting about for any sign of more human life. Whatever the announcement had meant by an ambush, it was clear things were serious. But the uncertainty of what the ambush actually was made Lily's heart pump much faster than it ought to. Facing an unknown opponent was oddly more blood curdling than knowing what danger lay ahead, even if it meant knowing she was heading towards her impending death.

They reached the top of the hill and Hagrid nodded to them.

'Tha's righ'.' he said upon their arrival, his voice uncharacteristically hushed. 'Don' want no lights giving yeh away.'

'Hagrid, what's going on?' Lily asked, matching his volume.

'Death Eaters.' he replied seriously, ducking down to speak to her properly. 'Loads of 'em.'

'In Hogsmeade?'

'Yeah… All over the platform…' Hagrid glanced over her shoulder. 'I reckon tha's the nex' group. Better be on yer way.'

Lily said goodbye and led the way down the hill.

Everything was horribly silent so that every step their group took sounded flinchingly loud compared to their still surroundings. She wondered how long they had before the Death Eaters realised there would be no students arriving at the station. Once that happened, they would start searching the surrounding area and this route couldn't be too far from the school or else they wouldn't be walking. They were also among the last few groups meaning they had far less time than the others to get back to the castle. The train couldn't be delayed for too long without being suspicious and once the train arrived in Hogsmeade the game would be up.

Lily didn't know when that would be.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, Lily noted the trees were thinning. Her stomach clenched. That meant two things; they were nearing the school and they were about to lose their cover.

'Apparently, the train's running late.' someone said up ahead. Lily's heart leapt. Death Eaters. Two of them. Both men, she thought, taking in their burly, gigantic forms.

'Good thing we're checking it out then.' the other said gruffly. 'Wouldn't want that old Headmaster getting the better of us.'

Lily tugged on the rope and then turned around to usher the now still group behind the cover of a clump of trees. Adrenalin was coursing through her as she motioned for them all to crouch. There was no way they could get passed without being noticed. And then there was the other group a little way behind them, just about to descend the hill. Shooting a slightly panicked look behind her at Marlene, Lily crept forwards, craning her neck around the tree to spy on the two Death Eaters.

The two men didn't seem particularly interested in moving. They appeared to be waiting for something. And then, much to Lily's horror, three others joined them, Apparating into existence with a spine-chilling crack.

Her mind was racing. How on earth were they supposed to get passed?

A single idea presented itself to her. It was a horrible idea and made her stomach churn uncomfortably, but she couldn't see any other way. She didn't know how to cast a Patronus and so couldn't send for help; even if she had, she would have given away their hiding place before any help could reach them.

Cautiously, Lily shifted over to Marlene.

'I'm going to distract them.' she whispered in Marlene's ear. 'Once they're looking the other way, get everyone to run and don't stop until you reach the school gate. Or a teacher. Whichever you find first.'

Marlene stared at her.

'I know it's a stupid idea.' Lily muttered, for once knowing exactly what Marlene's expression meant. 'But it's the only one I've got.'

Clutching at her wand, Lily stood up, taking deep breaths. She edged a little round the closest tree trunk. Her idea was suicidal, but she was the doomed Lily Evans, so she hadn't really expected it to be anything else.

_You are doomed. You will die, betrayed by one you call a friend, defenceless against the one who wields the knife._

Somehow, the knowledge that her death would be due to betrayal calmed her breathing. Betrayal wasn't particularly likely here. And with that in mind, Lily raised her wand, ready to cause a distraction. She was a Gryffindor. She could do this.

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**Oooh, a cliff-hanger of sorts. I am a little cruel like that...**

**I'd like to give a formal welcome so... ****Heeeello and welcome to my new fanfiction! It's a Jily (of course it is) but that's not the only focus. I've been wanting to write one that includes some of the war as well; I think I've neglected it in my other stories so I want this one a little more serious. We'll have some happy things in it of course - and lots of Lily and James time - but there's also going to be some war stuff. So, strap yourself in and get ready for this Jily journey!**

**I know prophecies are a bit overdone but bear with me. This one gives Lily some motivation I like to think - she's reckless and to me she uses this prophecy to justify her jumping into danger. James is reckless too, of course, but I've always imagined Harry gets it more from Lily than James.**

**Anyway, make my day and leave a review. Let me know what you think of the story so far! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you _fancy blood_ and _Tessy11_ for your reviews and thank you to everyone who's following the story. I'm really glad you guys liked the first chapter!**

**Anyway, I won't keep you from finding out what happens next. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own the storyline and nothing else. Unfortunately.**

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Chapter Two

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'Oh, Jesus Christ…' Lily murmured to herself, leaning around the tree to see the Death Eaters were busy conferring with one another. She took the opportunity to dart across to the next tree.

She made it and pressed herself against the bark, closing her eyes briefly. Her Gryffindor bravery was more lacking than she had thought. From where she was hiding, she could see the other group, crouched similarly to her own a little further back. She could see Frank was among them. That meant they were the last group. He spotted her, his eyes widening, but she shook her head, imploring the Head boy to stay where he was.

Taking another deep breath, she checked to see the Death Eaters were still busy talking and then leapt over to the next tree.

'Two down, fifty to go.'

This continued for every single tree until she had covered her desired distance. If she stepped a little further to the right, a little out of the cover of her current tree, she had a straight aim to one of the Death Eaters. It was time for the truly horrendous part of her plan.

'Shit.' Flinging out her wand, Lily scrunched up her eyes and whispered, '_stupefy_.'

One of the Death Eaters fell with a thud.

'What the –'

'There's someone here!' another screeched. A woman. 'Search the area.'

This was the moment Lily had been dreading. She stepped out completely from behind the tree and fired another Stunning Spell. This one missed, exploding a low hanging branch.

'Over there!' one of them shouted, pointing in Lily's direction. It was time to run.

Lily sprinted forwards, firing any jinx that came into her head, sometimes hitting her quarry, sometimes not. She didn't know where her energy was coming from, but she sped up somehow, hopping between trees like a hare or deer. A jet of green light streaked past her ear.

'Like that, little girlie?' her nearest pursuer sang; the woman. The volume of her voice told Lily she wasn't too far away. 'Plenty more where that came from.'

In the corner of her eye, she could see both groups of students making a beeline for the direction of the school. Seeing this, Lily changed direction, running diagonally forwards, drawing the Death Eaters away from them. The ground was becoming increasingly uneven, with many rabbit holes starting to appear as the trees all but stopped.

It was much harder to run as fast now. Avoiding the rabbit holes was a hard-enough task as it was but her oxygen debt was in definite need of being paid. She rasped onwards, sending an Impediment Jinx over her shoulder. It hit the woman; she cursed furiously before letting out a rather unsettling laugh.

Distracted, Lily stumbled and fell. Not being too far behind, the woman managed to catch up and dive on top of her before she could stand up. They struggled, Lily desperately wrestling her way out of the woman's grip as she made to squeeze her neck.

'Don't fight, babykins.' she crooned, smiling madly, her eyes popping. 'I'll be done soon.'

Already out of breath and now having her windpipe swiftly shut, Lily could barely do anything except gasp.

'R-_Relashio_.' she croaked, making the woman leap up in pain as she was blasted with red hot sparks. Scrambling to her feet, Lily darted past her, her chest aching as she tried to inhale any air she could. Her legs were beginning to feel like jelly, her vision was swaying slightly.

She skidded out of reach as another Death Eater lunged for her and Stunned him for good measure as he fell flat on his face. All she could content herself with was the thought that everyone else would almost have reached the school by now. Hopefully.

Thinking she might change direction and find Hagrid, who would likely still be in the woods somewhere, she hadn't seen him with the others, Lily hopped around the fallen Death Eater. Hurrying back towards the forest, she saw a small lump near where the trees ended. It looked almost like a –

'F_u_ck me!'

Lily changed course again, running in the direction of a fallen first year, who must have been left behind in the panic of leaving the forest. Wheezing, Lily reached them, seeing it was the little girl from the train. She seemed to be struggling to stand.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she spotted Lily. She must have been scared senseless.

'Climb on.' Lily said, crouching down. 'I'll give you a piggy back.'

The first year climbed onto her back and Lily set off again, much slower now she had a weight on her back. She had just reached the cover of the trees when a sharp pain hit her leg. A cackle told her she had been hit by a spell cast by the woman, but she couldn't afford to look, they had to keep going.

The pain was spreading thick and fast, the sensation in her leg redolent of her bone splintering. Soon it became unbearable and she knew that if she didn't stop moving, she would collapse. Lily hid the pair of them behind a tree, depositing the first year and resting her foot against the tree, examining her leg. She couldn't make out anything through her tights, there wasn't even a sign that a spell had hit them, but when she touched them, blood came off on her fingers.

'Come out, little children!' the woman was shouting. 'I want to play. I promise I'll be nice.'

With a great effort, Lily knelt beside the first year. Somehow, she managed to smile at her.

'Show me your ankle.' she said quietly, and the little girl obliged. '_Episkey_.'

Gingerly, the first year tested her newly healed ankle and then nodded.

'What's your name?'

'Daisy.' the girl whispered. Her eyes were still spilling tears and her hands trembled.

'Well, Daisy, I want you to do something for me.' Lily told her, smiling reassuringly. 'I know you're scared but I need you to be very very brave. I'm going to make you invisible and then I want you run where the others went. You'll reach a wall eventually and I want you to walk along it until you reach a gate. I want you to go through the gate and up to the castle. You'll be safe then. Can you do that for me?'

Daisy nodded.

'Good.' Gently, Lily placed the tip of her wand on the girl's head, murmuring the incantation. Slowly, she watched more and more of Daisy blend in with her background and once she was out of sight, Lily nodded. 'Go.'

Waiting a minute, Lily took a deep breath and shot up some green sparks. There was a shriek of victory from somewhere and then the sound of running.

'Good, little girlie!' the woman was singing. 'We're going to have so much fun together.'

Lily exhaled, standing up and leaning against the tree behind her. Despite her imminent death, a small chuckle escaped her lips. Professor Acranum might have been correct about her being doomed but she really oughtn't to have trusted his predicted cause of death. Maybe he wasn't as a good a medium as he thought he was.

She could hear the woman barely a metre away but for some odd reason she could also hear galloping. Perhaps, in her last few moments, she was going mad.

'What the –'

Lily started at the confusion in the woman's voice and a second later she knew why. A stag had appeared out of nowhere and in one swift movement it had picked her up in its antlers. In her own bewilderment, Lily managed to bring herself onto its back, so it was able to increase its speed and she wasn't in danger of falling off.

She had no idea what was going on, but she didn't have time to dwell on that. A jinx came whizzing past, barely missing her head. Lily twisted herself around and send a Stunning Spell behind her. It didn't hit anything, so she tried again. '_Levicorpus_!'

A Death Eater was yanked into the air by their ankle. Lily and the stag got another spell sent in their direction because of that.

They were gaining distance between them and their pursuers; the stag's four legs and excellent stamina were the reason for this. Lily didn't know whether the stag knew where it was going or whether it had saved her by accident but currently it was her best chance at survival. As trees and fired curses rushed past her, Lily thought of Daisy, who was running out in these woods somewhere.

'_Flipendo_.' She sent out another jinx, spotting a Death Eater in her firing line. '_Accio_ Daisy.'

Lily had no idea whether her second spell had worked, Daisy was too far away to reach her instantly, so she clung tighter to the stag and sent another spell at their chasers.

They had reached the tall stone wall that surrounded the Hogwarts grounds and the stag changed direction so abruptly he almost threw Lily off. Then they were off again, charging along the wall, supposedly in the direction of the school gate.

Lily grunted as something heavy thudded into her. Realising what it was, Lily held on with her free arm, letting out a small sigh of relief.

'Daisy!' she exclaimed, helping the first-year climb into a more secure position. 'You're all right… That's good…'

The school gate was in sight and Lily's heart leapt in relief. Safety was in reach. She removed Daisy's Disillusionment Charm, smiling weakly as the pain in her leg reminded her of its existence. Magically, sensing their arrival, the gates began to creak open. Daisy clung tightly to Lily's robes as the stag sped up, seeing their goal was up ahead. Then she screamed.

The woman Death Eater sprung out from behind a tree, letting out her own bloodcurdling shriek. Daisy shrunk into Lily's back as the woman flew towards them.

'_Stupefy._' Lily said, and the woman froze in mid-air, falling with a satisfying crunch to the ground.

The stag leapt skilfully through the open gates and they slammed shut after them. Both Daisy and Lily were flung onto the ground a few feet in front from the force of the jump.

'Aha…' Lily murmured, rolling onto her back and closing her eyes. The pain in her leg was getting worse. What had been numbed by adrenalin was now fighting back, beating against her sensory nerves for attention. 'We're safe…'

She pushed herself into a sitting position to see the stag morph into a teenage boy with abnormally messy hair and rectangular glasses. James Potter got to his feet and stormed over to her.

'What _the fuck_, Evans? What _the fuck_ were you thinking?' he shouted at her, his hazel eyes filling with fire.

'Just wanted one minute of fame…' she replied faintly, the scene before her swimming.

'Evans, you fucking idiot!' James seethed, seemingly ignoring her attempt at humour.

'We'll have none of that language, Mr Potter.' Professor McGonagall scolded, striding over to the pair of them out of nowhere, her face white, Daisy clutching her hand as if it was a life support. 'Miss Evans, are you all right?'

'Yeah, yeah…' Lily assured her, an unfocused smile playing about her cheeks. Her leg really was making it difficult to keep her vision in focus. There seemed to be several Transfiguration teachers hovering over her. 'I'm fine…'

And then, for Lily at least, everything went dark.

…

She awoke what felt like years later in a wonderfully comfortably bed. Her surroundings were all white and for a moment she wondered if she was in heaven. It was only when she took in Madame Pomfrey muttering to herself by her bedside that she realised she wasn't. Lily had nothing personal against the Hogwarts matron, she had just never, when she thought of what heaven was like, specifically pictured Madame Pomfrey in it.

Propping herself on her elbows, Lily shifted herself slightly. She couldn't feel her right leg at all.

'Oh, you're awake.' Madame Pomfrey said, bustling over to table across the room and coming back with a laden breakfast tray.

'Thanks.' Lily said politely, accepting the tray. She glanced about her. 'How long have I been here?'

'Only a night.' The matron pursed her lips. 'And the Headmaster says you're to be allowed to go to your lessons today should you wish.'

'I probably should.' Lily mused, pouring herself some cereal. 'First day of NEWTs is important.'

'Hmph.' Madame Pomfrey's hands shook slightly as she poured Lily a glass of water on her bedside table. 'You'll need to see me every two days for a new bandage for your leg. And you'll need to take some prescribed potions once a day and a painkilling potion twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.'

'Is my leg all right?' Lily asked, biting her lip and putting down the milk she had been about to pour over her cereal. 'I know it was bleeding… Is it really that bad?'

'You'll be needing crutches for at least a month.' Madame Pomfrey told her primly. 'And you'll be limping for quite some time afterwards. The wound itself should take at least six months to heal.'

'Six – _six months_?' Lily spluttered, gaping at the school matron. 'But it can't be that bad. It was only a hex…'

'It was a very ancient curse.' Madame Pomfrey corrected, sniffing. She poured milk over Lily's cereal and gave her the spoon in a rather forceful manner. 'Now, _eat_.'

Lily did as she was told. The Hogwarts matron was quite terrifying when angry, and currently there were practically flames bursting from her lips. As Lily ate, she strode about the hospital wing, airing the other beds in the ward with such vigour she could have knocked out a small child with the duvet she was shaking. All the while she muttered furiously to herself, Lily catching a few words when she came to the bed next to hers.

'… absolute catastrophe… what were they thinking… where were the Aurors… completely incompetent fools…'

Once she was finished eating, Madame Pomfrey helped Lily to the ward bathroom where, with great difficulty, she washed and dressed in the school robes Marlene had apparently brought over last night. After that, Lily spent about ten minutes coming to terms with her new crutches, Madame Pomfrey helpfully casting a Cushioning Charm on the handles to make them more comfortable.

Reluctantly, Madame Pomfrey dismissed her, and Lily made her way, slowly, down to the Great Hall. She might have eaten breakfast, but she still needed her new timetable and then she would have to head up to Gryffindor Tower to get her school things, assuming her trunk had made it to her dormitory.

At least she wasn't going to lose her leg, Lily decided, that thought bringing a little comfort in its wake.

The stairs in the Entrance Hall took her quite some time to descend, her crutches making them appear far steeper than she ever remembered. Eventually, she reached the open doors into the Great Hall and made her way through the threshold.

Her arrival inspired a squeal from Alice, the Head girl. She charged up to her and engulfed her in a hug before apologising profusely as she almost knocked Lily over in the process.

'Lily, you are the bravest person I have ever met.' she declared, taking it upon herself to abandon her breakfast on the Ravenclaw table to guide Lily over to the Gryffindor table, where Marlene sat, watching her come over, her face neutral. 'And also the craziest. But you saved us all!'

'Ha.' Lily scoffed, glad the Gryffindor table was close.

'And all by yourself too!' Alice gushed, beaming up at her. 'How on earth did you manage it?'

'Potter saved me.' Lily said, almost singing at the opportunity to sit down. 'I didn't do it alone.'

'Well, it should've been me and Frank doing all that.' Alice said guiltily. 'We're Head boy and girl after all. You shouldn't have had to do that.'

'Don't worry about it.' Lily reassured her, more concerned with sitting down than anything else. 'What's the point in being a Gryffindor if I don't get chased by Death Eaters once in a while? I'd be a fake if I didn't.'

Alice laughed a little.

'Well, if you can find something like that funny, I know you're all right.'

Lily smiled at her, taking a seat opposite Marlene.

'I'm fine, Alice.' she said bracingly. 'You go back to your breakfast.'

'Yeah, I probably should.' Alice relented. 'I don't think Sinistra likes students with rumbling stomachs.'

She left, and Lily let out a breath of air.

'Jesus Christ.' she mumbled, rubbing her temples. 'Crutches are hard work.' She glanced at Marlene, who was still watching her. 'Thanks for bringing my robes, Marlie. I appreciate that.'

Marlene shrugged and poured herself some more pumpkin juice. Lily grinned.

'Miss Evans, we need to discuss your timetable.' Professor McGonagall announced, appearing at her side so fast she almost had a heart attack.

'Of course, Professor.' she agreed, recovering. 'I'd like to drop Divination.'

…

The first day of school passed slowly even though Lily only actually had two lessons. Given her condition, Lily was allowed to leave lessons five minutes early and have a friend for company to carry some of her things and open doors. Marlene had accompanied her after their first NEWT Potions lesson; Professor Slughorn really had been quite sweet about Lily's injury, having all her ingredients already laid out on the desk for her so she wouldn't have to fetch them herself. However, for Transfiguration, McGonagall had ignored the raised hands of Lily's friends as they volunteered to accompany her and picked James.

Lily had had a free period after Transfiguration and so she wanted to go to the library. James had obliged her but been furious for the entire trip, not saying a single word to her, striding ahead until she told him to slow down.

'You could send me a postcard you're that far away,' she had said, a little irritably; her body was growing quite tired from pulling herself about on crutches. 'Is the weather nice?'

He hadn't replied but he had waited for her to catch up. When they reached the library, he dumped her things on the nearest free table and left.

Now, Lily was making her way back alone from the library to the Great Hall for dinner. She had discovered she could still hold her wand when using her crutches and used this to levitate her school bag in front of her as she slowly made her way forwards.

Her progress was impeded, however, by an unwelcomely familiar cough from behind her. She sighed.

'I thought I made it clear we weren't friends anymore.' Lily said calmly, turning herself around with a great effort to face her new company. The pallid face of Severus Snape was closer to her than she had anticipated.

'So, you still want to push me away, even after you've seen what my people can do?' he sneered, his black eyes flickering.

'Well, I'm sure if I'd run around with Severus' _friend_ written on my back they would've left me alone.' Lily replied, a humourless laugh bubbling from her mouth. If she didn't need her crutches to stand, she would have folded her arms.

'You know what I mean.'

'No, Severus, I don't think I do.' she said, glaring at him.

'Like this,' he gestured at her crutches, 'you are vulnerable. If you were friends with me again, my friends would leave you alone.'

'Thanks for the advice, _Severus_.' Lily mocked, starting to turn back around to resume her journey to the Great Hall. 'I'll bear that in mind alongside all the other wonderful things you've said to me over the years. And for the record, none of your school friends have tried anything yet.'

'Don't jinx yourself, Lily.' he called after her as she began to move away.

'Oh, I think your older friends already did that.' she quipped, continuing to hobble along with her crutches.

'Lily –'

'That's Mudblood to you.' Lily said as she reached the end of the corridor. 'Just go away, Severus. I don't need your concern. We're not friends.'

'I'm only warning you!'

'And I'm only telling you to fuck off!'

With that, she rounded the corner, exhaling slowly, and then continued down to the Great Hall.

* * *

**What did you think? Was that action scene 'actiony' enough? It's probably my first proper action scene and, although it wasn't that long, I've spent a long time re-reading and editing it. Hopefully it was decent.**

**I'm planning to upload every other Sunday - I would upload more frequently but alas my life doesn't give me bags of time to write. Sorry.**

**Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts so leave a review and let me know what you thought!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Welcome back! Thank you _fancy blood_ and _SiriusBlackIsAwesome_ for your reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed the action scene - I was a bit nervous about it. Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own this story and that's all. Sadly, I'm not J. K. Rowling.**

* * *

Chapter Three

* * *

The first Hogsmeade weekend came just over two weeks later and met was great excitement despite the chaos from the first night. Alice and Frank appeared quite harassed on the morning, however, and Filch conducted numerous security checks on all students leaving the school. Lily waved her friends off, wisely choosing not to join them when she still relied on her crutches to move anywhere, and decided to go to the library to get some work done. She had plenty of undisturbed time after all.

It took her a while to reach Gryffindor Tower to collect her things; her injury made everything frustratingly slow. On her way back through the common room she was held up by little Daisy, who hurried over to meet her, blushing furiously. She had been sorted into Gryffindor and wore her Gryffindor scarf almost everywhere.

'Hello, Daisy.' Lily greeted kindly, looking down at the tiny first year.

'H-hi.' she replied, a little breathless. She was hiding something behind her back.

'Are you all right?' Lily asked, a little concerned at how Daisy was fidgeting.

'Yes, I'm fine.' Daisy assured her, smiling toothily. 'I just wanted to give you this.'

She thrust a thank you card into Lily's hands and then hurried off, leaving a very bemused sixth year behind. Shaking her head slightly, Lily left the common room and headed for the library. She had to rest for a moment about halfway into her journey before continuing. When she reached the library, she noted it wasn't particularly busy, an understandable feat considering it was the first Hogsmeade visit of term, but she did spot James working alone on a far table.

Deciding that she didn't want to sit alone, Lily sighed and made her way over to his table. If she was lucky, he might help her carry her books back to Gryffindor Tower later; levitating her things in front of her was more tiring than she had anticipated.

'Can I sit here?' she inquired, flinching at the rather furious expression he fixed her with. Regretting her decision, Lily started to back away.

'Fine.' he said shortly. 'Just don't talk to me.'

James' rather unwelcoming invitation made her hesitate, but she sat down anyway. She supposed he was still cross with her about the events of the first night back. Or about the incident before the summer holidays when Lily had gone a little overboard in describing exactly why she didn't like him. She still didn't but sitting next to James was better than sitting alone and there had been a few occasions, she could count them on her fingers, during her Hogwarts career when they had got on reasonably well.

They worked in silence for about an hour before their ultimatum was broken. Lily had just let out about the fifth frustrated sigh in regard to her newly started Transfiguration essay when James lashed out.

'I told you to be quiet, didn't I?' he hissed at her as Madame Pince swept past.

'You told me not to talk to you.' Lily corrected unapologetically; McGonagall's essay was unreasonably difficult. 'That's not the same thing.'

James let out an angry breath of air.

'Shut up, Evans.' he muttered. 'I'm trying to work.'

'So am I.' Lily pointed out, frowning at him. 'I'm sorry if not all of us are good enough at Transfiguration to turn into a bloody stag.'

'Keep your voice down!' he snapped, glaring at her.

'You know, I don't think this has got anything to do with me sighing.' Lily mused, watching him, her brow creasing further. 'You just want an excuse to be annoyed with me.'

'Yeah,' James scoffed. 'Because everything's about you, Evans.'

'No, not everything.' she responded mildly. 'Just this. So, what is it, Potter? Spit it out.'

He stared at her for a second before recovering himself.

'This is about you being a fucking idiot.' James informed her, his hazel eyes glinting menacingly. 'What the fuck were you thinking being bait for a bunch of Death Eaters? You're supposed to be smart! You could've died, for fuck's sake! Did you ever think about that?'

'You know, it never crossed my mind.' Lily admitted dryly. 'I've always thought myself immune to the Killing Curse. I'm actually immortal. I'm a vampire – that's why I'm always so pale.'

'Stop pissing about, Evans.' he snarled, looming over her. 'This is serious. You could've been killed, and you're talking about it like it's nothing.'

'I know the concept of caring about other people's alien to you, Potter,' Lily sneered, folding her arms. 'But some of us thought it might be better if a whole group of people survived and just one died rather than none of us surviving at all.'

'Yes, but, Evans,' James waved his arms in frustration, 'you can't just act like your life's dispensable.'

'_I know my life's not dispensable_.' Lily said slowly. 'I just don't understand why you – of all people – give a shit.'

'Why?' James laughed. 'Because I'm not a monster!'

'That's debatable.' Lily muttered under her breath. 'Well, I don't see anyone else making such a fuss.' she told him, returning her voice to an audible volume.

'It was such a stupid idea.' he seethed, ignoring her comment. 'I never thought you would be that thick, Evans.'

'You think I don't know it was a stupid idea? Of course it was!' She let out a bitter laugh. 'But, Jesus Christ, Potter, it was my _only idea_. We had to get everyone out of there fast or they'd find us all. There were only four of us that could use our wands, plus loads of first years, against _trained terrorists_.'

'Yes, but –'

'Besides, you can talk!' Lily interrupted, jabbing his shoulder accusingly with her finger. 'Who was it who decided to come and rescue me – as a fucking stag by the way!'

'They weren't going to kill _a stag_!'

'Yes, because you were such a realistic stag.'

'I looked like a stag! What more do you want?'

'And exactly how many stags have you seen rescue and _lift _people with their antlers?' Lily asked, raising her eyebrows.

'Don't pretend like you wouldn't have died if I didn't do that!' he spat indignantly, standing up to tower over her. Not one to appreciate this method of intimidation, Lily stood up too, hastily grabbing for her crutches to support her.

'Well, aren't you a fucking wonderful knight in shining armour.' Lily sneered, shifting a little back with her crutches so that she didn't have to crane her neck to look at him. 'If you were going to be so bitter about the whole thing, why the fuck did you bother saving me?'

'I…' James suddenly became unsure of himself, his entire posture growing defensive.

'Why did you save me?' she reiterated, her eyes narrowing. 'I know you'd never do anything nice without something in it for you.'

'Is that what you think of me?' he asked, anger flooding back into his circulatory system. 'IS IT?'

'Both of you _enough_!' Madame Pince stormed over to them, livid. 'This is a library. If you can't control yourselves, get out!'

The presence of a third party calmed the pair of them, and an embarrassed flush entered Lily's cheeks. She hastily moved to pack up her things. The obedience to members of staff that she had had as a third-year still manifested itself in her.

'Sorry, Madame Pince.' she mumbled, stuffing her stationery into her school back. 'I was just leaving…'

Levitating her things in front of her, Lily left the library, struggling to open the door using her good leg. She started off down the corridor, sighing as she realised, she'd have to work in her dormitory instead; if there was one thing Lily hated, it was writing without a desk to rest on.

But when she reached the end of the corridor, she glanced behind her to see James leaving the library. Spotting her, he jogged to catch her up, reaching out and plucking her school bag out of the air, hanging it over his shoulder.

'Potter…' she acknowledged. 'Thanks for carrying my bag…'

'Listen, Evans –'

'I'm sorry.' Lily interrupted, blushing. This situation was making her feel uncomfortable. 'I shouldn't have said half of what I said in there,' she jerked her head in the direction of the library. 'I should have been thanking you.' A small smile entered her face. 'I mean, you did save my life.'

'Anyone would've…' he replied modestly, not looking at her. 'I only did what anyone else would've done.

'No, no they wouldn't.' Lily said softly. Then she smiled wider. 'It was very Gryffindor of you.'

'I do try.' James joked, laughing lightly as Lily knocked lightly against him with one of her crutches. 'Sorry for getting us chucked out of the library.'

'Oh, I think that was a joint effort.' Lily said, chuckling appreciatively.

'C'mon.' James said suddenly, grinning at her. 'Let's go find somewhere to study.'

…

'How was Hogsmeade?' Lily asked at dinner, laughing as Mary shuddered dramatically.

'Dead.' she replied, and Dorcas scoffed.

'No, it wasn't.' Dorcas dismissed, shredding up her roll and sprinkling the pieces onto her soup. 'She's just miffed it was only Hogwarts students.'

'I thought it was kind of empty.' Hestia piped up from Dorcas' other side and Emmeline nodded in agreement beside her. 'I don't think I saw any locals apart from the shopkeepers.'

'See!' Mary gestured violently in Hestia's direction. 'And Merlin did Rosmerta looked stressed. Apparently, some Death Eaters stormed her pub the night they tried to ambush the train. She let them drink her dry and they didn't kill her.'

'I'll keep a bottle of firewhisky handy in future.' Lily jested and thought she saw Marlene's lips twitch upwards for a brief second. 'But the Death Eaters didn't actually attack Hogsmeade did they?'

'The station's supposed to be a bit beat up.' Dorcas replied. 'But other than that, they didn't do anything. Nothing _reparo_ can't fix.'

'That's good.' Lily paused for a moment, taking a sip from her goblet. 'Did you all have fun at least?'

'I don't know.' Emmeline said, grinning evilly over in Marlene's direction. 'You'll have to ask Marlie.'

'Why? What happened?' Lily looked over at Marlene eagerly. Marlene's blank expression was tinged with her red cheeks.

'Let me tell you!' Mary gushed excitedly, sparing Marlene from any direct attention. 'Sirius Black – as in _the_ Sirius Black –'

'We all know who he is, Mary.' Hestia said, rolling her eyes.

'Do we?' Lily frowned. 'I've never heard of him…'

'Shut up, Lily.' Mary said, pouting. '_Anyway_, he bought Marlie a drink! And he flirted with her.'

'Good for you, Marlie.' Lily said, grinning over at her friend, who was now as red as tomato no matter how neutral she tried to appear. 'I've said for years you've got boys falling at your feet. Are you sure your mum didn't name you Marilyn McKinnon?'

Marlene glared at her and Lily laughed gaily.

…

But the laughter didn't last very long. As September rolled into October, the _Daily Prophet_ published a rather miserable article about all the Death Eaters currently at large. The article had covered the first five pages of the newspaper and Lily, her stomach lurching uncomfortably, recognised the first image of a woman named Bellatrix Lestrange; she was the woman who had cursed her leg. She might have finally been without her crutches, but she still limped everywhere, the outline of her large bandage very visible beneath her black tights.

Lily crumpled up the newspaper, throwing it onto her plate and standing up. Swinging her bad over her shoulder, she left the Great Hall, angry at the world. It was frustrating to see so many Death Eaters were roaming around when the Ministry was publishing pamphlets on the successes of the Auror department. As far as Lily was concerned, they had barely done anything; they hadn't even arrived in time to protect the Hogwarts students from the ambush on the train and for legal reasons made clear to no one the teachers were not allowed to do such a thing until the authorities arrived.

At least that was what she had gained from Alice, when the rather stressed Head girl had stopped to convey some of the teachers' gossip to her when they passed in the corridor. Apparently, she had walked in on Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall arguing about the whole fiasco.

'Not so fast, Evans.' a gruff voice called, making her heart leap. Mulciber.

'Can I help you?' she asked irritably. Coming across one of Severus' possibly Death Eater friends was exactly what she wanted.

'Confident, are we?' he asked, chuckling with a leer to compliment his action. 'I wouldn't be when I could just kick –' Mulciber stuck out his foot, knocking it into her right leg. Lily staggered sideways, only just managing to steady herself. 'Keep an eye out, Evans. We'll be coming after Mudbloods like you. Things are changing around here.'

He left her alone and Lily hobbled over to the nearest wall. Leaning against it, she took a deep breath. Mulciber hadn't even kicked her particularly hard but her leg had seized up, completely forgetting the painkilling potion she had taken earlier.

'Jesus Christ…' she murmured, closing her eyes briefly.

It wasn't that she hadn't taken Severus' warning seriously, she wasn't stupid, but she had hoped there would a bigger interval, perhaps one that allowed for her leg to heal first. There was no denying that things were moving in the Wizarding World, speeding up even, and it was a bad time to be a Muggle-born. Especially a doomed one.

* * *

**What did you think? Maybe it's the sadist in me but I really enjoyed writing that small scene at the end there between Lily and Mulciber. Don't mind me... **

**And what about Lily and James' first argument of the story? I've become a bit paranoid about the flow of speech recently. I'm reading a German book at the moment (_Der Augensammler_ if anyone's interested) and it's struck me how the speech in that book has great sequence to it - it reads at a natural pace, a realistic one. It's got me thinking a bit too much though about the dialogue that I write. So what did you think about the argument? Did it flow naturally enough?**

**Make my day and leave a review! I hope you enjoyed reading this! **

**Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi, sorry for uploading late. My Sunday's been very chaotic and I sort of forgot I was meant to upload. Sorry...**

**Anyway welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter!** **Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own the storyline.**

* * *

Chapter Four

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Lily got the impression that Marlene wanted to go and watch the Gryffindor team practice Quidditch; it was part of Hogwarts culture that when one fancied a member of a Quidditch team, it was custom to watch them practice. Knowing also that Marlene would never want to go alone for such an activity, nor would she ever ask anyone to go with her, Lily decided to take action herself. When she suggested the idea to Marlene, her friend said nothing, which Lily chose to interpret as a yes, and a few days later the two girls found themselves walking in the direction of the Quidditch pitch.

'And remember,' Lily said as they neared the stands. 'Dorcas is on the team too so we could just be supporting her. No one will suspect anything.'

Marlene looked at her.

'Well, fine.' she relented, smiling sheepishly. 'There's no way anyone's going to think that but who's honestly going to care. I'm sure there's millions of girls watching. We'll blend in nicely.'

It didn't take long for Lily to realise her prediction was entirely wrong. The day had been grey all round and so even the most dedicated of the good-looking Quidditch players fan club had decided against venturing outside. The two girls chose seats right at the back of the stands, as if this would distract from the fact that they were the only spectators, and waved at Dorcas, who rolled her eyes when she spotted them.

'Sorry, Marlie.' Lily apologised as the Gryffindor team began a simple passing exercise, throwing the Quaffle to random teammates whilst flying. 'This was a stupid idea. But I really didn't think we'd be the only ones watching.'

Marlene didn't say anything. She pulled out a copy of _Witch Weekly_ and hid her face behind her magazine. Lily smiled slightly, turning her attention to the pitch.

She saw James throw the Quaffle to Sirius and for some reason this reminded her of her confrontations with both Severus and Mulciber. She glanced at Marlene, wondering whether to say anything or not.

'Marlie…' she started uncertainly, watching the magazine lower itself slightly to reveal Marlene's eyebrows. Taking this as a good sign, she continued.

Lily relayed all that the two boys had said to her, watching Marlene lower her magazine more and more until her full face was revealed. Her expression was unreadable, but she watched Lily unblinkingly, giving her undivided attention.

'And – well – I don't know if he was serious or not.' she concluded, biting her lip. 'I mean when he said Mudbloods like me he could've just meant people who talk back to him. Or maybe he was just trying to scare me. He's still in school. It's not like he'd attack students – he could get expelled for that. I'm just worried if he goes after younger students; they won't be able to defend themselves…'

She sighed.

'I'm sure he wasn't being serious.' Lily decided, running her hands into her hair, resting her elbows on her knees. Marlene rustled her magazine. 'Well, okay, _I_ think he's being serious, but I could be being over dramatic. What do you think?'

Marlene looked out onto the pitch, her mouth a thin line.

'You think I'm right?' Lily echoed her expression. 'I'm kind of scared, Marlie… Not of Mulciber but of everything… Last year I could still ignore things were happening, but after that thing with the train… Everything's going tits up…'

On the pitch, the Gryffindor team were starting to play. The Chasers swerved about the pitch while the Beaters hit Bludgers in their direction. The Seeker scanned the pitch for the Snitch and the Keeper circled the goal posts. They were skilled, even to the untrained eye, and James glanced over to the stands, winking at the two girls sat there. They didn't pay him any heed; Lily was staring at her knees, still talking to Marlene, and Marlene was watching her silently.

'What do you think Voldemort looks like?' she mused, tracing a circle on her left knee. 'I know the Prophet said he's got red eyes.'

Marlene shifted in her seat.

'I suppose it doesn't really matter,' Lily stated, nodding at her friend. 'If you're up against him you'll be dead soon enough anyway.'

She fell silent, looking back up at the pitch just as James scored. Sirius flew in to thump him on the back before tearing off after a Bludger.

'I just wish I could do something!' Lily burst out suddenly, and Marlene blinked. 'God, I feel useless sitting around here, going to lessons and all that.'

Lily scuffed her left foot on the floor.

'I could be an Auror when I graduate…' Lily sighed. 'I really don't want to be an Auror. I couldn't stand it. Even if I'm taking the required subjects… Sorry, Marlie. I've just been talking about myself. Anything you want to complain about?'

Marlene shook her head and Lily laughed.

'Let's watch this Quidditch practice then, shall we?' she suggested, resting her head on Marlene's shoulder. 'Black might quiz you later, you never know…'

…

'Your shirt's untucked.'

James started, knocking over the stack of books on his desk in the library, looking around for who had spoken, instantly recognising the voice. Lily limped into view from behind a bookshelf, smirking mischievously.

'Having your shirt untucked is against the school uniform regulations, did you know that?' Lily asked, taking the seat next to him.

'And who are you to tell me that?' James demanded jokingly. 'You're not even a prefect.'

'Of course not.' Lily scoffed, shuddering a little at the idea. 'But I am part of the fashion police.'

'Police?'

'Like Magical Law Enforcement.' she amended, chuckling. 'Now for your fine.'

'What? I'm getting fined?'

'And a prison sentence.' Lily informed him solemnly. 'This is a serious offence, Mr Potter.'

'So, what's my fine?'

'You have to help me with my Transfiguration essay.' Lily said, producing her school things and placed them on the desk. 'If you're not busy that is…'

'Nah.' James grinned, leaning back in his chair and stretching. 'I was doing some extracurricular research.'

'Should I be worried?'

James shoved her lightly and she laughed, hastily covering her hand with her mouth as Madame Pince glared in their direction.

'Now, Transfiguration expert, should we get some books for the essay?'

'Evans, if I'm an expert, I don't need books; it's all up here.' He tapped the side of his head jovially and she raised her eyebrows.

'Well, Mr Expert, I'd prefer to have some books to reference as well if you don't mind. I can't just quote you all the time.'

'Sure you can.' James said, grinning as she stood up, shaking her head at his antics. 'Fine, if you don't trust me…'

With a snort, Lily limped over to the Transfiguration section of the library, passing little Daisy with some of her peers at a nearby table. She smiled at the girl as she passed, chuckling; as she had predicted, James was quick to follow her and when she smirked at him, he shrugged defiantly.

'I just thought you might need some help carrying your books.' he said, accepting the books Lily thrust at him. 'I don't need them myself.'

'Of course not.' Lily agreed absently, scanning the shelves for any more books that might prove vaguely useful. They returned to the table and placed the books down upon it.

'So,' James began, rubbing his hands together. 'What don't you understand about Gaunt's Law of Activation Magic?'

'Would it be bad if I said everything?'

'Everything.' James nodded, smiling at her reassuringly. 'I can work with everything.'

…

At four o'clock, Lily almost sprung out of her chair in realisation of the time. Hurriedly, she packed her things together, much to the amusement of James, who watched her laughing. Seizing a stack of books, Lily returned them to the correct shelf and then limped back over to her back, slinging it over her shoulder.

'I'm sorry, but I've got to go get my bandage changed.' she explained hastily to James, not wanting to seem rude.

'Oh, I thought you were off for a snog with someone.' he said, smirking at how she rolled her eyes.

'How ever did you guess?'

'If you're going to see Poppy, I'll come with you. Just give me a sec to pack up my stuff.'

'Do you actually call Madame Pomfrey Poppy to her face?' Lily asked, curiously and James nodded, putting away his parchment and quill. 'That is so weird…'

'And why's that?' James probed, amused.

'Because she's a member of staff.' Lily said as they headed to the library door. 'It's like if you called Filch Argus.'

'No, it's not.' James dismissed, shuddering dramatically and holding the door open for her. 'I'm in the hospital wing often enough from Quidditch.'

'You're also in detention every other day.' Lily pointed out, laughing at his indignant gasp.

'I am _not_ in detention every other day!' he defended, nudging her. 'You make me sound like some kind of demon student – which I'm not.'

'If the only person who can verify that is you, it doesn't bode well for it being true.' she told him wisely, grinning up at him.

'Take that back or I'll tickle an apology out of you.' James threatened, advancing on her. Lily backed into the wall, watching the mischievous look in his eye warily.

'You wouldn't dare…'

James was quick to disprove her, and Lily squirmed about, giggling like a mad man. She tried to retaliate but he curved his body out of the way. Diving forwards in an attempt to catch him, Lily lost her footing, wobbling about as she tried to steady herself. James grabbed a hold of her shoulders, helping her regain balance.

'Bloody hell, Evans…' he murmured once Lily was fine to stand on her own again. 'You should've said your leg was still that bad. Are you sure you should already be off crutches?'

'Yes, I'm sure.' Lily replied, laughing a little at his concern. 'My right leg can just be a little weak at times. As long as no one kicks it, I'm fine.'

'And has someone kicked it?' James inquired, peering shrewdly into her eyes.

'I've knocked it into a table leg enough times to know.' Lily said, bumping his shoulder lightly with her fist. 'Calm down; you're starting to sound like my mum if she knew.'

'She doesn't know?' James gaped at her. 'Why wouldn't you tell her? _She's your mum_.'

'If I told my parents about half the things going on here, I'd never be allowed back.' she told him casually and then tugged on his arm. 'Now come on, Mrs Evans, or I'll be late for getting my bandages changed.'

They didn't speak again until they reached the hospital wing. James held the door open for Lily and she thanked him before being chivvied over to the furthest bed by Madame Pomfrey. She pulled a curtain around the bed so that Lily was to remove her tights in private and then pulled them back once Lily was done.

James shuffled awkwardly over, hovering next to Lily, not entirely sure what to do as Madame Pomfrey bustled off to get a new bandage and a tray of assorted potions. She returned with her arms full and deposited them on a little table at the end of the bed Lily lay on.

'Professor Slughorn finished brewing your new prescription.' she said, indicating the potions. 'One teaspoon of each before bed every night.'

'Okay.'

'And if they start running out, let me know so I can order some more.' Madame Pomfrey looked grim. 'Merlin knows it'll take long enough to heal with those potions – I don't want to think about how long you'd be in bandages if you didn't take them – so mind you keep up with them.'

'Yes, of course.' Lily nodded earnestly.

'Right, let's change these bandages!' As the matron rolled up her sleeves and undid the knot on the bandage, Lily turned to James.

'It looks disgusting,' she warned. 'I won't be offended if you throw up or something.'

'I'm not going to throw up.' he assured her, puffing up his chest; Lily shook her head but smiled slightly.

Madame Pomfrey finished unwrapping the bandage and James had to clamp a hand over his mouth to stop himself visibly retching. No acrid smell wafted up from the wound, but it didn't need a stench to turn anyone's stomach. Lily was right; it did look disgusting, concerningly so. The skin around the long gash was blackened with some secret magic so that it appeared oddly dust-like in texture. However, what made the wound so much worse was the streaks of acid green glowing like embers beneath the ash-toned skin. Their light seemed to burn a permanent image into James' eyes as he stared, endeavouring to string a few words together.

Seeing the look on James' face, Lily snorted but then stopped as Madame Pomfrey dabbed a hissing, smoking substance onto her leg. It stung for the briefest moment when applied, and, while Lily had gone through this procedure plenty of times, there was something about the smoke rising from her leg that always stressed her.

'Thanks for coming with me today, Potter.' Lily said quietly, when they returned to the common room a while later.

'No problem, Evans.' He smiled, putting his hands in his pockets.

'You know,' Lily began, cocking her head to one side as she looked at him, smiling, 'you're not so bad, Potter.'

'Finally realised that, eh, Evans?'

'See you later, Potter.' she said, laughing and rolling her eyes. With a small wave, she headed up the girls' staircase, ready to deposit her things on her bed and perhaps have a quick nap before dinner.

* * *

**Look at Lily and James starting to become friends. It makes my heart melt happily. They'll be bosom buddies before we know it - well maybe not 'bosom' buddies. Is it Anne of Green Gables who really wanted a bosom buddy? I think so. Anyway, that's not relevant at all. I'm just rambling.**

**Make my day and leave a review! And I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Look who's back again! _Meee_! Sorry, I need to calm down... I dunno, I'm just in a really good mood today. Maybe because it's Easter and I've got a whole chocolate egg to myself.**

**To my wonderful guest reviewer, I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter! And also thanks to everyone following, favouriting and just reading this story. I'm grateful to all of you.**

**Anyway, let's get back to the story.**

**Disclaimer: Sorry, I still only own the storyline.**

* * *

Chapter Five

* * *

Upon entering the Great Hall for breakfast, Lily noted how Severus and his friends looked particularly pleased with themselves. Her eyes narrowed as her former friend caught her observing him and hastily stopped smirking. That was never a good sign. If he hadn't stared right back at her that meant something had happened that she wouldn't like. And, though this realisation made her stomach clench, Severus was probably involved in some way.

Nothing seemed out of order as she reached the Gryffindor table. The Marauders were laughing loudly at something or other further down the table; as a general rule of thumb, Lily measured the seriousness of in school rumours based on how loud the four boys laughed at breakfast (barely any laughter was a warning sign). Mary and Dorcas were bickering about something menial while Hestia and Emmeline threw bits of cereal at them, hoping to enrage them; and Marlene was watching them, her face expressionless as usual, but she shifted along the bench to make space for Lily.

As she sat down, Lily's nerves grew. If whatever Severus, Mulciber and their cronies had been smug about had been school related, everyone on the Gryffindor table would know. But no one seemed to think anything was out of the ordinary. That meant the cause was from something external; something that she discovered when her daily subscription to the _Daily Prophet_ dropped into her lap.

_Maidenhead Massacre_

_Late last night, Death Eaters marched on Maidenhead, a primarily Muggle town in the county of Berkshire, desecrating the town centre and burning down the homes of any Muggles in the vicinity. The official number of deaths is as of yet unknown, although St Mungo's spokesmen Eileen Johnson estimated it to be around 20 alongside over 100 casualties as Death Eaters invaded the surrounding homes._

_This makes for the second large scale attack conducted by the Death Eaters in the last three months, the first being the failed ambush of the Hogwarts Express, which resulted in zero deaths and zero injuries._

Lily scoffed.

_The apparent change in tactics by He–Who–Must–Not–Be–Named and his followers begs the question: is he intent on full scale war or is this just – Continued page 2 column 4._

Feeling Marlene's gaze on her as her temper rose, Lily thrust the newspaper at her, helped herself to a piece of toast and left the Great Hall. She couldn't bare to be in the same room as Severus and his friends when their smugness radiated across the Hall. How could they be so pleased by such a thing? It was disgusting to think that they might even have been involved in some way, that they might even have killed someone themselves. Severus and Lily might no longer be friends, but she was still constantly aware of him. The revulsion she felt as she thought of his possible actions coupled perfectly with the anger coursing through her system.

Here at Hogwarts they were so protected but outside the castle walls there were people dying. It was all very well her getting an education in protecting herself but what about the poor Muggles who were defenceless against magic? Where was their protection? And what about her own family? They were just as vulnerable.

'Fuck this.' Lily muttered to herself, striding down the stairs in the Entrance Hall into the dungeons, making her way to her first lesson of the day. There was a good chance Professor Slughorn was already in his classroom; on weekends he never appeared outside of his quarters until the early afternoon but on weekdays he sprung about his classroom from as early as seven in the morning.

'Good morning, Lily!' he greeted with his booming voice as she slipped into the room, her anger abating at his jovial attitude. 'A little early, aren't we? Not that I mind your enthusiasm, Lily dear!'

'Morning, sir.' she replied, smiling at him. 'I just thought I'd make a start on preparing my ingredients. What potion are we doing today?'

'Any potion that takes your fancy, Lily.' Slughorn replied merrily. 'Provided it's in the textbook.'

'Okay…' Lily pulled out her copy of _Advanced Potion-Making _and ran her finger down the contents page. 'I think I'll make an inflammation antidote.' she decided out loud, thinking she could then take it down to Hagrid that afternoon. He liked soaking bandages in it to be used on creatures in the forest.

'An excellent idea.'

Lily worked contentedly for the forty minutes before lessons officially began, the methodical nature of preparing ingredients calming her fully. When the rest of the class arrived, Mary and Marlene took seats either side of her. The chaos of everyone brewing their potions presented an excellent opportunity to chat without being interrupted.

'Lily,' Mary said, tapping Lily on the shoulder with one hand and carelessly throwing some knotgrass into her cauldron with the other. 'Marlie's mum sent her letter saying there's a protest happening on the nineteenth of December – the day after we break up. They're protesting in Diagon Alley to increase the protection Muggles are getting.'

Lily glanced at Marlene, who nodded, for confirmation.

'So, what do you say?' Mary pressed, lowering her voice as Slughorn walked past. 'You in? My parents'll never let me but I'm sneaking out and Marlie's going with her mum anyway.'

Lily bit her lip. Something was niggling at the back of her brain, making her whole body tense. Then she shook herself. She was a Gryffindor and this protest would be a chance to make a difference.

'I'm in.'

Mary squealed, pulling both Lily and Marlene into a bone-crushing hug.

'Merlin, this is exciting!' she exclaimed once she'd let go. 'I've never been to a protest before. Dorcas has – she said they can get a bit chaotic.'

'Oh well.' Lily grinned. 'I can stand getting trampled on.'

Mary squealed again, earning her some strange glances from the other students in their class. She and Lily laughed, turning back to their potions, while the corners of Marlene's lips twitched upwards.

…

After her last lesson of the day finished, Lily made her way out of the castle and down to Hagrid's hut, lugging her cauldron of inflammation antidote with her. She hadn't gone to visit the Hogwarts Gamekeeper yet this term, something that made her quite guilty, and those visits always made her feel better. Agreeing to going to the protest had been egging at her the whole day; she was excited of course, this was the opportunity to do something worthwhile she had been waiting for, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was bound to go wrong. Such a protest was sure to attract as much negative attention as positive attention.

She knocked on Hagrid's cabin door. It opened relatively quickly, and Hagrid beamed down at her, helpfully relieving her of her burden.

'Hullo, Lily.' he said as she squeezed past into his comfortably warm cabin. She grinned up at him.

'I thought I'd bring something useful with me.' she told him, sitting down at his large table. 'I know you like soaking your bandages in that stuff.'

'Cheers.' Hagrid deposited the cauldron in his sink. 'I've been right popular today. James came an' saw me this mornin'.'

'Good I came later, then.' Lily joked as Hagrid started to make tea. She stood up, going to collect mugs from his cupboard and setting the table.

'Don' yeh try and hide nothin', Missy.' he accused, wagging his finger in her direction. 'He's told me yeh was gettin' on well las' time you spoke.'

'Maybe he's lying.' Lily suggested, smirking as she sat back down. 'I can't believe you'd take his word over mine.'

'I always told yeh he weren't so bad, didn' I?' Hagrid said, chuckling appreciatively.

'And I always told you he'd Imperioused you.' she quipped. 'You just never listened.'

Shaking his head, Hagrid poured the freshly boiled water into a teapot and threw in two teabags before putting on the lid. He brought the pot over to the table and sat down opposite her, his beetle black eyes crinkled in a benign smile.

'So, yer friends now?' he asked, pouring Lily a large mug of tea.

'I don't know about friends but we're being civil at least.' she replied, shrugging and taking a sip of tea. 'I'm guessing he didn't tell you about the huge row we had in the library two weeks into the start of term.'

'He mighta left that out, yeah.' Hagrid admitted, laughing. Lily grinned.

'He would.' she said, thinking of the self-confidence of the boy in question.

'But he's an all righ' bloke really.' he said, watching her carefully. 'Bit of a git at times but he means well.'

'You're really selling him to me, Hagrid.' Lily giggled, almost spitting tea everywhere so she clamped a hand in front of her mouth. 'I'll tell him you said that,' she added once calm.

'Yeh do that, Lily.' Hagrid waved an enormous hand carelessly. 'Might do him some good.'

They finished their tea and after that Lily helped Hagrid soak bandages in the antidote she had brought, hanging them in front of the fire to dry once soaked. Once they were finished, Lily said she was in desperate need of stretching her legs and Hagrid agree, saying he wanted to check the spells on the school gate. He stumped around the table and ducked down to the drawers beneath his bed, pulling out a golden instrument of some time. They shrugged on their coats and Hagrid collected his pink umbrella before shutting the door behind them.

'How's yer leg?' he inquired as they made their way down the lawn. 'Bin meaning ter ask.'

'Getting better.' Lily replied vaguely. 'I'm just glad I don't need crutches anymore. They were a nightmare. I never realised how weak my arms are until I used them.'

'I took the train ter Hogsmeade that night yeh got yer injury.' Hagrid said, adjusting his hold on his umbrella. 'Once you lot had gone. Dumbledore wanted me to keep an eye – let him know when them Death Eaters was all gone. Got a good view of 'em down in the Three Broomsticks.'

'Mary said they drank everything.'

'Destroyed the place more like.' Hagrid corrected darkly. 'Drank some an' smashed the rest.'

They reached the gate and Hagrid ran his golden instrument along the lock. All of a sudden, little lines of light streamed from the large padlock, twisting in and out of each other until they covered the whole gate in a glowing shield. Lily looked at it in wonder, reaching out a hand to touch the magic, feeling a rush of warmth up her arm as she did so.

'Dumbledore's magic that.' Hagrid told her softly. 'He keeps us safe he does.'

Through the shield, Lily could just make out the path that wound down to Hogsmeade.

'It's strange to think there's only this shield between them and us…' she murmured, tracing her finger along the shield, noting the varying areas of pressure as she switched between lines of light.

'Wha's that?' Hagrid asked, edging closer to her.

'I just meant, when you think about it, the only thing that stops anything bad getting in here is this.' Lily elaborated, looking up at Hagrid with a strangely sad smile. 'A wall of spells.'

'Ruddy good spells.' he said, clapping her on the back so that she almost fell over. 'Sorry.' he added gruffly, steadying her with one massive hand.

'Ruddy good spells.' she agreed, with a quiet laugh.

'You all righ', Lily?' he asked, watching her, his eyes growing concerned. 'You look a bit odd.'

'I'm just thinking…'

'Abou' wha'?'

'It doesn't matter.' Lily smiled. 'I'm just getting hungry. It'll be dinner soon.'

'If yer sure.'

Lily said goodbye to Hagrid and then headed off back up to the castle, perhaps walking a little faster than she normally would. Seeing the enchantments on the gates had made her feel stupid for being nervous about the protest. If a thin wall of spells could protect an entire school, then her and her wand would survive a protest if things got a bit out of hand. Even if she was doomed.

* * *

**So what did you think of Hagrid's accent? I've been having a slight crisis about it. I want Hagrid to have a bigger role in this story than he has in any of my others but I've always been a bit scared of his accent. I'm hoping it's turned out all right.**

**Anyway, make my day and leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello! I running out of different ways to greet you guys and we're only on chapter six. Looks like you'll be stuck with 'welcome back' next time.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and thank you to _fancy blood_ for your review. It really made my day reading your review - I'm glad you like that characters, and Hagrid's accent was fine. Honestly, I don't get how people write accents. It's so hard to sound passable.**

**Disclaimer: I own the storyline and that's all. It's fine. I don't care. Honest.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Six

* * *

She was running. Running without oxygen. Breathless. Sweat clung to her forehead as she grasped the crystal ball in her hands for dear life. The woods around her were thick but up ahead, through the dense vegetation, she could make out a lake that reflected the moonlight. Throwing a terrified look behind her, she sped up.

_Doomed._

The word repeated itself again and again in her mind as she fled, desperately trying to reach the lake before it was too late. From behind her came a cackling laugh.

'You can't run from me girlie!'

Tears were running down her cheeks as she clutched the orb to her chest, holding onto it as if it were her own child. She broke through the trees and skidded onto the pebbled beach of the lake. There was another cackle from behind.

'Looks like you can't hide!'

With all the strength she had, she flung the orb out into the lake, where it broke the smooth surface and sank down into the depths.

'Idiot girl! What have you done?'

A hand grabbed the back of her neck and forced her face first into the water. She struggled, her lungs quickly filling with water, her mind going funny from no oxygen. She couldn't breathe. Everything was going black. She needed help. She needed saving. She was drowning.

…

Lily awoke with a start, drenched in sweat. She looked around, feeling about for the hangings of her fourposter to reassure her that she wasn't still trapped in her nightmare. Thankfully, she wasn't. For a moment she remained in her bed, sitting up and staring about in the dark. Then she pulled back the hangings and slid out of bed. Fumbling about in her drawer, she pulled out a fresh pair of pyjamas and crept into the bathroom, taking care not to wake her friends.

After a quick shower and changing into her clean pyjamas, she left the bathroom and threw her old pyjamas onto her bed, picking up her dressing gown, which she wrapped around herself before leaving the dormitory. Silently, she made her way down the girls' staircase and, when she appeared in the common room, took a seat on the sofa opposite the dying fire.

Then she started.

'Remus!' she exclaimed, clutching at her heart. 'I didn't see you there.'

'That's all right.' Remus chuckled tiredly from his armchair. 'I'm well-hidden here.'

'On purpose?'

'No, no.' He stretched, leaning forwards so that the light from the fire flickered in his pale face. 'James' snoring woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep.'

'Potter snores?' Lily checked, her nose wrinkling comically. 'How disgraceful.'

'He's not that bad.' Remus defended, grinning as she giggled. 'But once you're awake it's just annoying.'

'Incredible how he manages to be annoying when he's unconscious too, isn't it?' Lily mused, fiddling the belt of her dressing gown. Remus snorted.

'So why are you awake?'

'Potter's snoring.' Lily said seriously.

'Really?'

'It's very loud.' Then she blushed, realising what she had been implying with her joke. 'I mean, I was joking… I wasn't… I wouldn't… I don't…'

'_I know_, Lily.' he told her, smirking. 'Believe it or not, I'd notice if you were sleeping in our dormitory.'

'That's a very bold assumption.' she replied, as he raised an eyebrow. 'I'll have you know I've been living in there for years.'

'I must have missed that.'

She laughed but then fell silent after a while, glancing at Remus' face, which looked so gaunt in the firelight. Of course, the extensive shadows cast never did anyone any favours, but he did look ill. The full moon had only been a few days ago and it always took a while for Remus to recover. Nevertheless, she grew concerned.

'Are you all right, Remus?' she asked softly. 'You look a little peaky…'

'I'm fine.' he dismissed, not looking at her but at the fire. 'I've just been thinking.'

'About what?'

'Nothing really.'

'It doesn't look like nothing.'

Remus didn't reply. He got up from his armchair and went to stoke the fire, throwing on a fresh log for good measure. Slowly, flames began to crackle and lick their way around the log.

'Some children were attacked during the last full moon.' he murmured so quietly she barely heard him. 'They died yesterday in St Mungo's – it was in the _Evening Prophet_.'

'Oh, that's awful…' Lily whispered, unconsciously raising her hand to her mouth, her eyes widening. 'But, Remus –'

'They're saying that the werewolf who attacked them was – was…' Remus' hands were trembling as he put down the poker he was holding. 'Was Fenrir Greyback.'

Lily stood up and went to wrap her arms tightly around him. Though much taller than she, Remus rested his forehead on her shoulder. They remained that way for a few minutes.

'It's sick.' he spat, pulling back. 'It's just sick.'

'I know, Remus, I know.' Lily agreed gently, leading him to sit down on the sofa.

'You know, when I was younger, I used to feel sorry for him.' He was glaring at his hands now. 'I used to think he was like me. I used to think he couldn't control himself – just like I can't.'

'He's a murderer, Remus.' Lily said fiercely, placing a hand over his. 'You're a good person. He is nothing like you. It isn't being a werewolf that makes him that – even if he wasn't, he probably would be out there killing for fun – he's chosen to be the way he is. You've chosen to be kind and loyal – and all the things he'll never be – because that's who you are. Being a werewolf doesn't change any of that.'

'To you maybe.'

'Remus – Remus – look at me,' Lily gently but purposefully moved his head so that he was looking directly at her. 'Up there,' she gestured vaguely at the boys' staircase, 'are three boys who would murder the whole of Hogwarts for you without a second's hesitation. If you were anything – _anything_ – like Greyback, do you really think that would be true?'

He didn't say anything in response and Lily accepted her victory with a small smile. She had worked out Remus' secret for herself in second year after hardly failing to notice that her Charms partner was always ill around the full moon. It had taken another two years before she confessed this, blurting out that she knew during a very late-night game of chess when neither of them had been able to sleep. Severus had always been suspicious of Remus, concluding correctly that he was a werewolf just over a year after Lily had realised, but Lily had never encouraged his 'theory' as she always called it; they might have been best friends at the time, but Lily had known even then that she couldn't trust Severus with everything.

'Come on,' she said, standing up and offering him her hand. 'Let's go get some hot chocolate. Filch will have finished his late night round by now.'

…

Lily was walking back from the owlery when she heard jeering from around the corner. Pulling out her wand and then concealing it beneath her sleeve, Lily rounded the bend, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. And she had been correct to be suspicious; the scene she came across froze at their new company.

Severus, Mulciber, Avery and Wilkes were all with their wands out, pointing them at a small first year – Daisy. At the sight of Lily, they turned to face her, and she watched their faces turn from brief apprehension, thinking she might have been a teacher, back to leers. Severus looked a little uncomfortable at having been caught by his former friend and shifted slightly away from his comrades.

'Evening.' said Lily mildly, limping over to them and going to stand next to Daisy.

'Evans,' Mucliber growled, his eerie grin widening. 'So, kind of you to join us.'

'It is rather.' she agreed, kneeling down gingerly so that she was on eye level with Daisy. Studying her for a second, Lily turned her head back to the Slytherins and smiled a rather tight smile. 'I'm going to make a deal with you.'

'What kind of deal?' Mulciber inquired, his grin, if it were possible, stretching even wider. Severus had shrunk back so far now he was almost against the opposite wall. Lily scoffed quietly.

'My deal is that you four let Daisy go and you can pick on me instead.' she offered casually, glancing to her right to see Daisy trembling; she was doing the right thing. 'I'll still have my wand of course, but it isn't that hard to disarm someone – is it, Wilkes?'

Wilkes started at being directly addressed by her and then sneered. He was notoriously bad at the Disarming Spell.

'Four against one, Mudblood.' Mulciber reminded her, his eyes taking her in hungrily as if deciding what jinx to hit her with first. 'That's not exactly in your favour.'

'Same odds as before.' she replied, shrugging and then turned back to Daisy. 'Now, Daisy, I want you to go back to the common room. Can you do that?'

Daisy nodded and then scurried off. Wilkes pointed his wand after her.

'_Expelliarmus_.' she said, almost lazily and caught his wand in her free hand as she straightened up. 'Come on, Wilkes, we're picking on me, remember?'

Mulciber and Avery advanced on her, clearly not enjoying her jibe at their comrade. Lily didn't back away, she couldn't; there was barely any space between her back and the wall, and she wanted to guarantee as much retreating space as possible when she really needed it.

'_Petrificus totalus_!' Mulciber spat, his wand arm shaking. Lily ducked, just missing the spell that came pelting towards her. She wasn't quite so lucky with the Stinging Hex Avery sent little more than a second later, his aim anticipating her doge of Mulciber's curse. It grazed her cheek painfully, so she struggled to direct her own retaliating spell.

The Bat-Bogey Hex she fired missed and she was forced to cast a Shield Charm to deflect the joint advance of her two opponents.

'Aren't you going to join in, Severus?' Lily called, blasting Mulciber with her wand so that he was thrown backwards. 'Don't miss the opportunity to hex a Mudblood. Isn't that what your little gang's all about?'

'Shut up, Evans!' Avery snarled, stepping closer to her. Wilkes was helping Mulciber to his feet, a little unsure how to be of use without his wand. Mulciber muttered something to him and Wilkes smirked. Lily's stomach clenched. '_Tarantallegra_.'

Lily's feet avoided the spell by inches as she dashed to the side, a feat made difficult by her previously injured leg. She needed the length of the corridor to manage this duel properly, so she hurried on a little further, casting a Shield Charm behind her for good measure. What she hadn't anticipated was Wilkes coming out of nowhere and smashing his foot into her right leg.

Pain spread thick and fast over her injury and she fell with a gasp, clenching her teeth together at the agony cascading across her calf.

Leering, Mulciber, Wilkes and Avery loomed over her, their wands out. Then they paused.

'Snape, want to come and do the honours?'

Mulciber's unnaturally wide grin was back and Lily shrunk where she sat, her right leg clutched in her hands. She couldn't see Severus, but she could hear him walking over to where his friends towered over her. He appeared between them, his wand pointed directly at her, his face blank. Lily couldn't read anything in his empty black eyes, not that she wanted to. Whatever was about to happen to her, she didn't want to cling to some false hope that he might spare her. They weren't friends.

'Oy!' a voice called from the end of the corridor. Footsteps.

James strode forward, his eyes flashing furiously, flanked by Sirius, Remus and Peter, all with their wands out.

'What the fuck do you think you're doing?' he snarled, less that a metre from Lily. 'Put your wands away now!'

'Only if you do, Potter.' Mulciber retorted, redirecting his wand at James. Avery and Wilkes followed suit, but Severus' remained on Lily.

'Very clever, Mulciber.' Sirius taunted from beside James. 'Did Voldy teach you that line?'

'Shut your fucking mouth, you little blood traitor!' Mulciber growled.

'Evans, get out of the way.' James said, glancing down at her. 'We'll deal with this.'

Avery, Mulciber and Wilkes drew away from Lily and Severus, as did James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, all of them moving to begin a duel without obstructions between them.

'We really should bow first.' James suggested, rolling up his sleeves and grinning sideways at Sirius.

'Good idea, mate.' Sirius agreed, with his own wolfish grin. 'Can't forget our manners.'

'Stop messing about.' Remus murmured from behind them, his own eyes fixed warily on their opponents. 'Don't get distracted or –'

'DUCK!' Peter interrupted, shoving James out of the way as a Stunning Spell came directly towards him.

As the duel began, Lily glanced at Severus, who was still watching her, his wand trained on her chest. The pain in her leg was slowly receding back to the level her painkilling potion allowed, so Lily, sensing Severus wasn't planning to send a spell at her any time soon, took to opportunity to get to her feet. She hobbled over to the wall so that she could rest against it, waiting for her leg to go back to normal. Severus followed her.

He towered over her, his eyes boring into hers. There was a strange kind of hunger in them, a lust of some kind. Lily blinked, breaking their eye contact with a sigh.

'Just get on with it, Severus.' she told him irritably, folding her arms.

'Wh–'

'Just bloody hex me, will you?' she snapped. 'Stop gawping and do it.'

'I…'

Something flickered in the pits of Severus black eyes; it made Lily's stomach lurch, knocking out any irritation to replace it with something even more familiar. Fear. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her step back, thudding into the wall as her heart pounded.

'Be my friend again.' he murmured, his voice dangerously quiet.

Lily's eyes widened, shrinking where she stood. He seemed to loom over her, trapping her without any hope of escape. The wall felt very solid against her back.

'Be my friend again.' Severus repeated, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his grip on his wand. Lily glanced down at it before bringing her gaze back to his glittering dark eyes. Something writhed in those endless pits; something that made her body tremble. 'Be my friend again or I'll hurt you.'

'You –'

'I swear it, Lily!' he snarled, his face inches from hers, his wand swishing up to press against her neck. 'If you say no, I'll hurt you, I will.'

His wand pushed harder against her skin. Lily's eyes watered.

'Say it.' he growled. 'Say we're friends.'

'I…' Lily took a deep breath. 'I won't. We're not friends.'

'_You won't_?'

When, at the start of term, Lily had been chased by Death Eaters she hadn't had time to truly feel scared; everything had just moved so fast. But this, her former friend's ideals glaring in her face, his wand against her throat, waiting to hex her, made her sick to her stomach. This drawn out anticipation was far more frightening than running head long through the danger.

'I won't.' she repeated, closing her eyes so that she couldn't see the fire kindling in his eyes. It was all she could do to calm her heart palpitations. With any luck, Severus would curse her soon, ending this cruel wait for his offensive.

'Get the fuck away from her!' James barrelled into Severus, roughly shoving him to the side.

'That's _enough_, boys.' Professor McGonagall voice interjected sharply from somewhere along the corridor as Severus made to retaliate, his face contorting. 'Mr Potter, please accompany Miss Evans to the hospital wing – you will both receive details about your detention via letter.'

'But, Pro–'

'No, Mr Potter.' she interrupted, her nostrils flaring as she strode furiously over to the scene. 'Rules are rules, no matter the circumstances. You both used magic in the corridors alongside everyone else. You will face the consequences.'

'Of course, Professor.' Lily mumbled, gingerly pushing herself off the wall with a glance at Severus before moving to stand beside James. 'We'll go now.'

Peter grimaced at the pair of them, next to McGonagall, evidently having gone to fetch her to stop things escalating too far. Her appearance certainly worked because all others on the scene had ceased fighting to shift awkwardly, having been caught in the act.

Linking arms with James to steer him in the direction of the hospital wing, Lily was glad to leave the scene. The look in Severus' eyes seemed to be branded into her mind; he was a long shot from the boy she had once spent her holidays with, running around Cokeworth and playing harmless pranks on Petunia.

'Sorry for getting you a detention.' James apologised once they were alone. 'I sent Pete off to get Minnie – reckoned things could get nasty if I didn't.'

'Thank you.' she replied, smiling slightly. 'That's twice you've rescued me now. I owe you.'

'I'll hold you to that, Evans.' he joked, smirking. 'And promise me you won't take on four Slytherins on your own again.'

'We'll see.' she said noncommittedly, chuckling at the alarmed expression that flitted across his face.

'You're worse than me, Evans.' James observed and she elbowed him lightly to let him know her feelings about his comparison. 'I mean,' he elaborated, grinning, 'you're even more reckless than me.'

'I'm not as big headed though, so I think I come out on top.' She winked and he laughed.

Silence fell between them and James glanced down at Lily every so often as they made their way towards the hospital wing. He was studying her shrewdly by the time Lily pushed open the ward doors.

'Ev–'

But he was cut off by the furious growl from Madame Pomfrey as she took in her new arrivals.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? Nothing like a bit of fighting in the corridors to brighten up your day. Another point for James here, saving Lily again; she's really dropping being. Unbelievable. Then again, all's not fair in love and war.**

**Anyway, never mind my ramblings. Make my day and leave a review! I'll see you in chapter seven!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Welcome back! Did you enjoy the fight/duel from last chapter? Just a little bit of drama before the Christmas Holidays at Hogwarts. That's exactly what we need.**

**By the way, thank you _Hani_! I'm glad you like the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own the storyline and nothing else.**

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

'And _what_ are you doing here?' Madame Pomfrey demanded as soon as James had shut the door behind himself and Lily. 'Your new dressings aren't due until tomorrow!'

'Professor McGonagall wanted me to take Evans to see you.' James replied, edging a little in front of Lily, eyeing the Hogwarts matron warily; there was a steely glint in her eye that did not bode well.

'And why is that?' The matron's teeth were gritting, and her arms folded of their own accord. Lily wobbled a little with apprehension.

'I may have been kicked…' Lily mumbled, looking down at her feet. A slight smirk made its way onto James' face as he glanced sideways at her, suppressing a laugh.

'_Kicked_? Kicked!' Fire burst into Madame Pomfrey's eyes and she started to chivvy Lily towards one of the beds. 'You'll have to show me your leg… Now!'

Lily did as she was told, slipping off her tights and lying down on the bed; James turned scarlet as she flashed him with her knickers by accident in the process of removing her tights. He coughed, turning away so that no one could see the prominent flush in his cheeks.

With the bandage off, Madame Pomfrey bent over Lily's leg and peered down at it. When she had completed her examination, she strode off to fetch her dressing potions.

'If,' she began, dapping some of the smoking substance on Lily's injury, her hand shaking. 'If you so much as run with this injury I shall personally apply to be the Healer who amputates your leg.'

'Did you just say amputate?' James piped up, braving the tasking of turning back around to face Lily in order to ask the matron his question.

'Yes, Mr Potter, I did.' Madame Pomfrey confirmed grimly, continuing to daub at Lily's wound. 'We aren't just talking about any old wound. This was brought about by an ancient curse that – if it takes too long to heal – will take up permanent residence and begin to spread through the rest of the body. We'll be forced to amputate to prevent that should the healing process take too long. Unless, of course, St Mungo's find a faster, complete cure – there's always a chance they might…'

James waited for Lily to say something to that piece of news while Madame Pomfrey wrapped a new bandage around her leg; she remained silent, her eyes closed.

'Right.' Madame Pomfrey said crisply, straightening up. 'You're free to go… for now… Miss Evans – Lily – I'll need to teach you how to change your bandages yourself so you can do it when you go home for Christmas.'

Lily nodded, sliding off the bed and pulling on her tights before silently limping from the ward.

'Er – I – cheers, Poppy.' James saluted, trying to disguise his awkwardness and glancing towards the swinging hospital wing doors. 'See you…'

He chased out after Lily, who admittedly hadn't gone far with her bad leg. She was just turning the corner when he called out to her.

'Oy, Evans! Wait for me, would you?'

James jogged up to where she had stopped.

'You all right?' he asked tentatively, peering down at her, studying her eyes shrewdly.

'I'm fine, Potter.' she replied, the corners of her lips twitching up. 'I haven't actually lost my leg, you know.'

'I know that.' He put a hand on her shoulder. 'You just seemed upset. You know you can tell m–'

'I'm getting a little concerned.' Lily interrupted, knocking her fist gently against the side of his head. 'Are you sure my mum hasn't possessed you? This is the second time you've sounded like her.'

'What –?'

'I should really start calling you Mrs Evans full time.' She tilted her head to the side. 'Yeah, I think I will…'

'Evans, if you're sure you're okay…'

'Come on, Mrs Evans.' she said, rolling her eyes and starting to walk again. 'Stop fussing and start fuming. We're due a detention any time soon and you can bet McGonagall's sticking you and me together; there's no way she'll let you boys be together.'

'I have been in detention before, Evans.' James pointed out, following her, chuckling. 'Takes more than a detention to separate the Marauders.'

'Ah yes.' Lily nodded. 'Sorry, I forgot you were a demon student for a moment.'

'There you go again with your accusations.' He sighed, looping an arm around her. 'What'll it take for you to realise I'm actually a decent student?'

'Apply for Head boy and get the position.' Lily replied after a moment's consideration, smirking at the way he choked. 'Application's open to all sixth years.'

'You want me to apply for Head boy?' he checked, ruffling his hair with his free hand. 'Me?'

'Actually, I want that third year to apply.' Lily said, nodding her head in the direction of a younger student walking down the corridor about to pass them.

'You're hilarious.' he told her, pinching her cheek and grinning as she squirmed away from him.

'And you need to apply for Head boy.'

James narrowed his eyes while she smirked at him.

'That's my only term,' she said, her eyes sparkling. 'It's your choice. Take it or leave it.'

Not one to back down from a challenge, James stepped towards her, grinning as she had to crane her neck to look at him.

'I'll do it,' he conceded, and she laughed, '_but_ you have to apply as well – for Head girl.'

'Fine.' Lily held out her hand. 'You've got yourself a deal, _Mrs Evans_.'

They shook hands and then made their way to Gryffindor Tower laughing.

…

It wasn't until that night, as Lily lay in bed, listening to the snuffling snores of her friends, that she mulled over Madame Pomfrey's warning. She had been upset by the news and understandably so seeing as there was a chance, she could lose her leg. But now, as she mulled over that possibility, part of her brain seemed to sigh as if exasperated that she could be even the slightest bit surprised.

'Doomed…' she murmured, rolling over in her bed so that she was staring at the ceiling of her fourposter. The word was so familiar on her tongue, even if it caused her insides to twinge slightly. Lily chuckled quietly to herself. 'You couldn't have been a little more specific, could you, Acranum?'

She supposed, among all other doomed things in her life, she was doomed to lose her leg somewhere along the line. There were times when she wished her former Divination teacher had been less vague about the first part of his prediction. It would have been nicer to know exactly how she was doomed from the very beginning, rather than having to attribute things to his prediction later.

Maybe she would have been more careful with her leg if she had known before there was a chance she as condemned to injure, and perhaps lose, it. Then she scoffed. She knew herself well enough to know that would not be the case. James was right when he named her reckless. Perhaps. But Lily did think of the consequences of her actions, she just ignored those that posed a threat to her if it meant helping someone else.

'Jesus Christ, Lily…' she said to herself, chuckling faintly at her own thoughts. 'Get over yourself.'

Rolling onto her side, Lily tugged her duvet up a little and closed her eyes. Eventually, sleep hit her, and she drifted off, dreaming of Professor Acranum's prediction, the scene from her third year playing infinitely until the dawn came.

…

Professor McGonagall didn't organise a particularly strenuous detention for those involved in the duel. She had placed, as Lily had predicted, Lily and James together in her own classroom, while Sirius, Remus and Peter had their detention in Flitwick's classroom. The Slytherins were with Professor Slughorn and he had them cleaning cauldrons. McGonagall, on the other hand, had merely set the Gryffindors lines and left the two she was supposed to be supervising to their own devices while she went to have dinner.

Lily was unloading her school bag on the desk next to James', pulling out lined paper, a Muggle pen and a bulging cloth bundle of snacks gifted to her by the Hogwarts house-elves when she went to the kitchens to ply them with a cauldron of potion that dyed material whatever colour you wanted. They would have given her the food without her gift, but she didn't like going empty-handed; it felt like she was stealing from them otherwise. And the elves had been delighted, telling her happily which colour they planned to dye their school-issued pillowcases.

'What some?' she offered, untying the knot at the top of the bundle to reveal its delicious contents. James' eyes gleamed in appreciation.

'Cheers.' he said, reaching over and plucking a chocolate éclair from the stash. Taking a bite, and chewing on it for a moment, James glanced at her. 'Do this often, Evans?'

'Detention or bringing food?' she checked, chuckling, her had hovering over a jam doughnut.

'Both I s'pose.' James elaborated, smirking as she took her time eating her own snack before answering.

'You never studied Divination, did you?' she asked, and he shook his head. 'Well, most of my detentions came from Professor Acranum. We didn't exactly see eye to eye after – … But I always bring food to my detentions; I don't know how anyone makes it through without any.'

'Shows how many detentions we've had together.' James observed, stretching and leaning back in his chair, watching her.

'To be fair, before this year, I don't think we could be trusted together.' Lily replied fairly, writing out the sentence McGonagall had set them. 'Alone, that is.'

'Why?' James nudged her, smirking wider. 'I'll bet you just fancied the pants off me last year, Evans, and you just couldn't be trusted to keep your hands off me.'

'If that's how you want to remember things,' Lily said dryly. 'Although I remember it was more along the lines of, I couldn't be trusted to not hex you.'

'Fine.' James raised his hands in surrender. 'If you want to be so unromantic about the whole thing.'

Lily scoffed.

'More unromantic than you _asking me out_ while you picked on Severus?' But she was grinning as she asked this.

'That's all a matter of perspective.' James defended, his cheeks reddening while she snickered beside him. 'And anyway, it was all in the heat of the moment…'

'I should hope so.' Lily winked at him. 'Or that'll make my nickname for you very awkward.'

'_You're_ the one who decided to call me that.' he retorted, elbowing her lightly. 'Don't put the blame on me.'

'Fair enough, Mrs Evans.' she said, pointing her wand at the sentence she had written earlier. 'I take full credit.'

Murmuring something, Lily traced her wand along all the lines of her lined paper, and as she did so, the sentence copied itself across the page until it was there one hundred times. James chuckled, his eyes on her paper.

'Look at you, Evans.' he said, smirking. 'Never had you pegged as a cheat.'

'She never said we couldn't use our wands.' Lily quipped, shrugging. 'I'm just using my resources.'

'And you're a cheat.'

Lily snorted, poking him in the cheek with mock indignance; then she jumped, hearing someone saying James' name. Strangely, the sound seemed to come from down below somewhere, perhaps underneath the table or…

James reached into his pocket and pulled out a square mirror. Lily's eyes widened. Instead of seeing his reflection, she saw that of Sirius, and she shook her head slightly, trying to discern if she was hallucinating. Apparently, she wasn't, because a moment later James spoke to his mirror.

'All right, mate?' he greeted, grinning broadly at his friend. Sirius mimicked his expression, plainly lounging back in his chair in Flitwick's classroom.

'Any chance of you sneaking out?' Sirius asked, yawning dramatically. 'We're all bored to death over here.'

'It's only been ten minutes.'

Lily sniggered, hearing Remus' long, suffering observation from somewhere in the background of Sirius' reflection. She could almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose.

'Don't laugh, Prongs!' Sirius cried, plainly shaking his corresponding mirror as the image on James' end shook all of a sudden. 'You're a traitor enough as it is – hanging out with Minnie when we're all stuck with Flitwick.'

'That wasn't me.' James replied, biting back a laugh of his own. 'That was Evans.'

'Evans?' Sirius stopped shaking his mirror and leant closer to it. 'Evans is with you? Alone?'

'What's that supposed to mean?' James inquired, flushing a little when Lily laughed, leaning over his shoulder to wave at Sirius.

'That's dangerous, Evans…' Sirius warned seriously.

'Waving?'

'Being alone with old Jamsie here.' he elaborated, and she grinned, casting a glance in James' direction when he huffed indignantly. 'I'd watch out if I were you.'

'And why's that?'

'Well, you know what they say about stags, they're horny.'

Lily snorted and James growled, turning a wonderfully bright red.

'Are you in Flitwick's classroom?' Lily asked, pointing her wand at James' parchment to copy the single sentence he had written. 'We'll come and join you.'

'Really?'

'Really.' Lily smiled, getting out of her seat and prodding James. 'Come on, you; we'll get fat eating all of this by ourselves.'

'You've got food?' Peter's voice squeaked from inside the mirror and Lily laughed, shaking her head at James.

'You boys really have something to learn about detentions, don't you?'

* * *

**What did you think? Would you like detention with the Marauders?**

**Anyway, next chapter marks the start of the Christmas holidays for our characters. Make my day and leave a review and I'll see you then!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Welcome back! You join us for the start of the Christmas holidays. I kind of wish it was Christmas now. Summer is too hot for me to function properly. I'm not even exaggerating. The amount of times I wrote 'ang' instead of 'and' in this chapter is scary. Don't worry, I did edit this afterwards.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter and as usual a disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and all that jazz.**

* * *

Chapter Eight

* * *

Lily hadn't rested well on the train journey to London. The events of their first night at school had played continuously on her mind and it had taken ten minutes of her unnecessary fussing with her trunk before she braved stepping out onto Platform 9 and ¾. She was quick to smile, however, at the sight of her parents waiting near a stone pillar, eyeing their Wizarding neighbours with a mixture of apprehension and fascination. A small boy near her mother was holding a bright purple toad and, chuckling lightly, Lily observed her mother glance at the creature nervously every few seconds or so.

'Lily!' She was quickly engulfed in a many armed hug when they noticed her arrival. 'You're looking a little peaky.'

'Thanks, mum.' Lily said, rolling her eyes at her father as they all let go and Mrs Evans took a stern look at her daughter. 'I think you're forgetting I'm always this pale.'

Mrs Evans tutted, gesturing for her husband to relieve Lily of the burden of her trunk. Grinning at his daughter, Mr Evans lead the way off the platform and Lily linked arms with her mother. They didn't say anything on the way to the car and Lily climbed into the back seat, waiting while her parents murmured something to one another outside before getting in as well.

The car pulled out of the parking spot and into the traffic beside it. Mr Evans drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand as his wife watched him pointedly. He coughed.

'Er, Lily…' he began, and Lily looked away from the car window into the rear-view mirror.

'Hm?'

Mr Evans coughed again.

'You know Pet's been dating Vernon for a while…' he said, glancing at Mrs Evans, who was now sifting around in her handbag for a tissue. 'Well, he's staying with us for Christmas; Pet's bringing him with her.'

'Okay.' Lily nodded, turning her head to stare out of the window. 'When are they arriving?'

'On the 24th so we've got a few days of just us.' Mr Evans chuckled into the silent car.

Lily tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as Mrs Evans blew her nose. No one spoke for the next hour or so until Lily breached the subject of the protest she intended on going to; not that her parents were to find out the real reason.

'Mum, dad?' she said into the silence and both of her parents hummed their recognition of her addressing them. 'Marlene's throwing a Christmas party tomorrow – can I go? She wants to go shopping beforehand so I thought I'd go to hers around ten.'

'Ten?' Mrs Evans turned around in her seat to face her daughter. 'That means you'll be gone practically the whole day!'

'Mum, I promise I'll spend the rest of the holidays stuck to you two like glue.'

'I don't know –'

'_Please_, mum.' Lily pleaded. 'I promised her I'd go.'

'Let her go, love.' Mr Evans said, reaching out to squeeze his wife's hand. 'You let her go to that New Year's bash last year.'

'Yes, but this is the first day of the holidays we're talking about. She's only just got here.'

'And you heard her, she'll stick to us like glue for the rest. Isn't that right, Lily?'

'Yup.' Lily pulled off her jumper and rolled it up into a makeshift pillow to sleep on. 'I will.'

Mrs Evans sighed.

'Fine, you can go.'

'Thanks,' Lily smiled before resting her head on her rolled up jumper. The silent inside of the car combined with the low hum of the engine lulled her into sleep.

…

She woke when they arrived and once her father had hauled her trunk into the house, Lily helped him carry it up the stairs and into her room. He left her to unpack and she sank down into her bed, staring around at her rather plain room. Aside from the books of her childhood, her room bore no signs that this bedroom was anything other than a guest bedroom. There were no photos, no posters, only the singular vase of fresh flowers her mother must have placed on her windowsill ready for her arrival.

Lily hadn't bothered to pack up any of the photographs or posters she had in her dormitory in Hogwarts; she was only home for two weeks so there was no point. She did when it was the summer holidays, but each year she left more and more of her decorations in her dormitory, not seeing much point in hauling everything back to her parents' house for a six-week holiday either.

She sighed.

It wasn't that Lily didn't love her parents, or the time she spent with them, but there was no denying that she lacked closeness with them. Seeing her parents for a total of two months a year from the age of eleven had taken its toll on their relationship. Of course, she couldn't vouch for all who had or still were attending boarding school but this absence in her life coupled with the fact that she was magic, and they weren't, had led to a strained relationship.

'Never mind…' she murmured to herself, getting up and going over to open her trunk.

Not being the best of packers, the mess of her things didn't look inviting to unpack so she sighed again and sidled out of the room in search of her parents. She found her mother in the kitchen, peeling carrots, and offered to help.

'You can set the table.' Mrs Evans replied, glancing up as her daughter spoke to her. 'Cutlery's in the top drawer over the–'

'I know.' Lily interrupted, striding over to the drawer her mother indicated, smiling at her briefly. Collecting a handful of cutlery and balancing a stack of three glasses in the nook of her arm, Lily left the kitchen and wandered into the dining room next door. An archway joined the dining room to the green wallpapered living room; it was on one of the matching sofas that Mr Evans lounged, his feet propped up on a poof, his head buried behind a newspaper. He folded the top half down at the sound of his daughter entering the room.

Gingerly, Lily set the glasses down on the table, letting out a slow exhale of air once successful, and then went about placing the cutlery in the correct place; one set of knife and fork on one side of the table for herself and two on the other side for her parents (the remaining gap had once been filled by Petunia when she had still lived at the Evans' residence).

Unsure of what to do with herself once she was finished, Lily hovered awkwardly under the archway until her father coughed from behind his newspaper and she took this as a hint to sit next to him. Obliging him, she lowered herself into the space beside him on the sofa and started to pick at the nail varnish she had on her nails.

'How's school been?' Mr Evans enquired, flipping up the folded part of his newspaper so that he could turn the page.

'Great.' Lily answered, her gaze focused on her nails. 'Really great.'

'That's good. Not too stressful, is it?'

'It's all right if I don't let my homework pile up.' The clock above the television set ticked loudly. 'I've got less subjects now, which is good.'

'Really? Why's that?'

'Oh, you know, last year I did the Wizarding equivalent of O levels and now I've moved on to A levels, so I do less subjects.' Lily shifted in her seat. 'Less subjects, more work for each.'

'Right.' Mr Evans nodded, simultaneously perusing the football results from the match he had missed yesterday. 'What d'you drop?'

'Divination and –'

'_Divination_?' he checked.

'Telling the future.' Lily elaborated, grinning slightly. 'Complete waste of time if you must know.'

'What a surprise.' They both chuckled appreciatively. 'Although don't tell your mum that – she likes to think people can do all that reading palms bollocks.'

'There are some real Seers out there.' Lily responded, stretching. 'I'm just not one of them.'

'So, ever seen a real prediction?' Her father was not peering curiously around his newspaper.

Lily's stomach lurched. Professor Acranum had certainly done his fair share of predictions when she had been in his class; she knew that all too well. His specific prediction about her – about her doom – well, she had never confided in anyone about that. And she certainly wasn't going to do that now.

'… Er, a few… But they're all small things like who's going to catch a cold next week or the weather in exactly a month's time.'

'So nothing exciting?'

'No, no… Nothing exciting.' Lily stood up. 'I think I'll go see if mum wants any more help.'

'Oh, all right then.' Mr Evans waved his daughter off, seemingly unfazed, but as she left the room, he watched her, his eyes narrowed shrewdly. He had the feeling, as parents often do, that his daughter wasn't telling him everything; of course, though he wasn't to know that, he was entirely correct, and the extent of his daughter's deceit was far greater than he could ever suspect.

…

'They're saying the Yorkshire Ripper's behind the attack on that prostitute up in Leeds.' Mr Evans said conversationally, taking a sip from his beer. 'Hope they catch the bastard soon. S–'

'Can we not talk about murders at the dinner table?' Mrs Evans chided, though she nodded in agreement at her husband's words.

'I don't mind.' Lily smiled across the table at both her parents. 'Go on, dad.'

Mr Evans pecked his wife on the cheek while she sighed before returning to what he had been planning to say.

'She might've been a prostitute, but she didn't deserve anything like that – none of those women did.' He grinned. 'Not saying I'd be happy if you became a prostitute, mind, Lily.'

'Cheers, dad.' Lily laughed while Mrs Evans looked disapproving. 'That's my back up if magic doesn't work out.'

She brought a mouthful of stew to her mouth.

'I don't suppose you hear about things like that at school, Lily.' her mother observed. 'From everything you've told us about the magical world, it all sounds quite peaceful. It's good to know Wizards aren't abusing magic.'

Lily choked on her stew.

'Yeah…' she rasped, coughing into her napkin before reaching for her glass of water. 'Everything's good on my end – nothing bad…' She tried to laugh but only managed to cough. Her parents, however, seemed relatively convinced by her answer. Thankfully.

…

The next morning, Lily awoke relatively early, staggering tiredly into the bathroom. She aimed to arrive at Marlene's at around ten in the morning, thus meaning she was required to abandon what could have been a lengthy lie in. The protest didn't begin until the evening; a ministry meeting was being conducted at five in regard to heightening Gringotts' security so it seemed ideal to protest as the officials arrived. Marlene wanted someone to help her write placards from them all to carry and Lily had volunteered; they also planned to do a little shopping in Diagon Alley before the protest began – Hogsmeade didn't have the biggest range of shops.

She hummed absently as she stripped out of her pyjamas and washed herself using a flannel and water from the sink. Today would be her first time changing her bandages herself, so she didn't want to ruin anything by risking a shower when she was only semi-conscious. Once dried and in her underwear, Lily turned her attention to her injury, carefully undoing the knot of her bandage and unravelling the material to reveal the revolting wound beneath.

Taking a wad of toilet paper, Lily propped her foot on the edge of the bathtub and tipped some of the smoking potion onto the toilet paper. Gingerly, she brought it to her leg.

She scrunched up her eyes, squinting through her eyelashes so that she minimised how much rising smoke she could see. Each dab left a small stinging sensation, but it quickly abated. Once finished, Lily threw the bit of toilet paper in the bin and reached for the fresh bandage. She was so focused that she didn't hear the bathroom door open. What she did hear was her mother's shriek.

'LILY EVANS!' Mrs Evans thundered, striding over and wrenching the bandage out of her hand. '_What in God's name have you done to your leg_?'

'Oh, Jesus Christ…' Lily muttered under her breath before forcing a reassuring smile into existence on her face. 'It was a potions accident.'

'A potions accident?' Mrs Evans repeated, every syllable dripping with suspicion.

'Yeah, I accidently knocked over a potion I was brewing, and it went all over my leg. Madame Pomfrey – that's the school matron – she said I'll be fine, it'll just take a while to heal.' she lied, widening her smile in the hope it might deter her mother. 'I'm fine.'

'If you're sure.' Mrs Evans relented, the introduction of magic into the conversation convincing her of her daughter's honesty, holding out the bandage for Lily. 'I just don't understand why you didn't mention it in any of your letters.'

'I didn't want to worry you.' Lily replied, and this time her response was entirely truthful. She accepted the bandage back and started to wrap it around her wound. Her mother seemed to grow increasingly relaxed the more of it was covered. 'You're doing much better than Potter when he saw it – I was sure he was going to throw up.'

'Don't tempt me.' her mother replied and Lily grinned, tying a knot in the bandage and collecting the clothes she had brought with her into the bathroom to change into. Pressing a kiss to her mother's forehead, she made to leave.

'I'll get out of your hair.' she said and left.

Lily made her way back into her room, closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She let out a long breath of air. Lying to her parents had never been easy, but something told her that the events of the autumn term were only the tip of the iceberg. That coupled with her doomed fate, she was in for a difficult ride to concealing from her parents the reality of the Wizarding World.

* * *

**You know, it makes me really sad to write Lily's family like this but I think it fits better with the story. I'm missing Lily's family from _The Cat Chronicles_ writing this. I had to read the Christmas chapter to cheer myself up a bit. But what do you guys think?**

**Make my day and leave a review! There's a protest to come that you do not want to miss...**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Welcome back! I don't really know why but it feels like ages since I last posted. Anyway, I'm looking forward to posting this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: the only thing I own is the storyline.**

* * *

Chapter Nine

* * *

The front door of Marlene's house opened to reveal her step-father Steve grinning at the new arrival, a half-eaten bacon sarnie in his hand. Gesturing for her to come in, she obliged and wiped her feet, smiling back.

'You're just in time; we're having a late breakfast. Want some?'

'I'd love some.'

Taking off her coat, Lily hung it on the coat rack by the door and Steve shut it behind her. Depositing her bag on the floor, she turned around to see Marlene hovering in the doorway, her face neutral. Lily's smile widened.

'Long time no see, Marlie.' she joked and embraced her friend in a one-armed hug. Whether Marlene found what she had said amusing or not, she didn't show it but returned the hug before awkwardly gesturing that Lily enter the dining room. Despite the stiffness of her movements, Marlene looked very redolent of Steve in the way she moved, not that that was surprising; Marlene never said anything, but Lily knew she idolised her step-father.

They had an enjoyable breakfast together, Lily snorting loudly as Marlene's mother Nellie teased Steve about his new haircut. Her husband's mimic of one who was angry, but of course in a highly exaggerated fashion, had even Marlene crack a smile as she looked down at her plate, hoping to disguise her amusement. Once finished, the girls went into the kitchen to do the dishes; Lily washed the dishes and Marlene was tasked with drying and then putting them away.

'So how long is until you're officially adopted by Steve?' Lily asked, filling the washing up bowl with hot water. She winced as she tested it, the temperature burning her fingertip, so she hastily added some cold water before mixing in the washing up liquid. 'He's been married to your mum for over a year now and I remember their lawyer said it was better to wait a year before starting the whole process – I suppose it looks better on paper after a year of marriage – it's a bit stupid though… I mean, they've been together since you were, what, two?'

Marlene shrugged, waiting for Lily to finish washing the plate in her hand.

'It'll be strange, you know.' Lily remarked, handing over the washed plate and picking up another dirty one, her voice reminiscent. 'I've known you as Marlene McKinnon for just over five years now. Soon you'll be Marlene Price… although I suppose you could have taken your mum's surname if you'd wanted to before…'

Marlene stooped down to place the dried dish in one of the lower kitchen cupboards, her hair falling in her face.

'Or will you keep your dad's – biological dad's – surname?' Lily turned to glance at her friend, who had straightened up, her whole body tense at the mention of Mr McKinnon. 'Sorry… I shouldn't have brought him up…'

Her friend jerked her head oddly, reaching around her and taking the plate Lily had been washing out of the washing up bowl to dry. Lily studied her shrewdly; she couldn't read her friend at all, she never really could, and since Marlene barely revealed anything it made things difficult. Something had happened but she couldn't work out what.

'Marlie?' she said softly, wiping her hands on a free tea towel to remove the foam on them and walking over to Marlene. Tentatively, she placed a hand on her shoulder. 'What's wrong?'

Marlene's hands shook and she dropped the plate she was holding. The great smashing of the ceramic distracted Lily, thus directing her gaze away as Marlene quickly wiped a tear away from beneath her eye. Kneeling down, Lily started to collect the larger pieces of broken plate together.

'Oh, sweetheart!' Nellie had burst into the kitchen, drawn by the sound of a crashing dish, and spotted Marlene's trembling form. She engulfed her daughter in a hug and waved at Lily to stop clearing up. 'Don't worry about that, Lily. You girls head upstairs, I'll clean that up.'

She rocked Marlene for a moment as Lily stood up. Throwing a smile at her, she pulled back and stroked her cheek tenderly with her thumb.

'I'll bring up some biscuits for you. How does that sound?' Marlene nodded once and Lily smiled. 'Good… enjoy yourselves a bit before the protest.'

'Thanks, Nellie.' Lily said as she made to pass her and steer Marlene out of the kitchen.

'_He_ wrote to her.' she muttered in Lily's ear as she passed her, and Lily's eyes widened. Nodding once, Lily latched onto Marlene's arm and took charge in leading her to her room.

Inside Marlene's room, Lily deposited her friend on the bed and then settled herself beside her. Glancing sideways at her friend, Lily bit her lip, considering what to say, because Mr McKinnon was not a topic to be taken lightly.

The parental situation in regard to Marlene was both simple and complex at the same time. Nellie had fifteen or sixteen years ago been engaged to one Roland McKinnon and also been pregnant with his child, Marlene. They had been in love, a Muggle-born and a pureblood, or so everyone thought. One night, Roland had come home to announce that he was leaving, that he couldn't deal with the pressures of fatherhood, and had his things packed an hour later. Two days later, his face appeared in the society pages of the _Daily Prophet _married to another pureblood witch. One year later, and the birth of their son Nathan was announced.

Sensing the climate of the Wizarding World, Nellie chose to give her own daughter the surname of her once fiancé, the father of her child. Having the same name as a prominent pureblood family would be far better for Marlene than that of an unknown Muggle-born witch. She met Steve, a Muggle, a year later and sparks flew. He moved in and became the father that Marlene had never had, loving her as his own.

Roland had never bothered to find out what had become of his daughter. Never. Until now it seemed. Unfortunately, for him at least, Marlene had grown to hate the man who had abandoned her mother.

'What did he want?' Lily asked finally, tentatively, everything about her nervous. She reached out and squeezed Marlene's hand.

Her friend's mouth opened and closed, no words coming out, her long held silence suffocating the sound she tried to produce, willing her to remain quiet. Lily waited patiently, smiling encouragingly. Marlene would speak when she wanted to, there was no use rushing her if she wasn't ready.

'It's okay, Marlie.' she said gently. 'You don't have to say anything.'

Marlene nodded, getting up abruptly and striding over to her desk. She pulled open one of the desk drawers and pulled out a crumpled bit of parchment. Returning to the bed, she handed the paper to Lily, who straightened it out and read.

_Dear Marlene,_

_I know you must be rather surprised to hear from me; I have never reached out to you before after all (something I regret deeply). Nathan, your half-brother, is now fifteen, meaning you must be sixteen and soon on your way to being of age. With that in mind, I should like to meet – at a time that is convenient to you of course – and perhaps get to know one another. _

_My absence in your life was selfish of me but I feel I may be of some benefit to you now that you are of an age where you must consider your career path. I know your mother has limited contacts in the Wizarding World, but the McKinnon family is an old one and if I can offer you, my daughter, a leg up in any way then I would like to offer it. So, perhaps you will consider my offer and reply to this letter._

_Awaiting your response,_

_Your father, _

_Roland_

'Jesus Christ!' Lily seethed, the letter re-crumpling in her fist. 'What a conceited little prick! I – sorry…' She looked sheepish, unsure if she was allowed to insult Mr McKinnon even if Marlene did hate him.

Marlene shrugged, a slight grin making its way onto her lips. She bumped her arm against Lily's and Lily grinned, chuckling slightly.

'God, Marlie, he sounds smug.' she said, resting her head on Marlene's shoulder. 'For a dad who's never contacted his daughter before, he sounds awfully pleased with himself. Must be all those leg ups he's been able to give.'

Marlene snickered.

'Maybe Nathan's nicer. I don't think I could place him… but if he's a fifth year then that's not surprising.' Lily mused, glancing at Marlene. 'Do you know him?'

She nodded slowly and got up again, shuffling over to her desk again and pulling out a large photo album. Flicking through the pages, her eyes scanned each photograph until she found the one she was looking for. Coming back to the bed, she pointed her finger at a boy very much in the background of a group picture with Marlene and Lily's friends.

'Him?' Lily checked, and Marlene nodded again.

The photo was one taken with Marlene's Muggle camera, she always arrived at school with it stuffed somewhere in her trunk, and so the boy, Nathan, had his face frozen in time. He was in the picture entirely by coincidence, the photograph catching him mid-sentence with one of his friends. Lily squinted. There was certainly an element of Marlene in his face; their eyes were identical.

'Is he nice?'

Marlene shrugged noncommittedly. Lily wasn't quite sure what to make of the action.

'I'll go with you – if you want – if you meet Roland… You don't have to go alone…'

Reaching out, Marlene squeezed her hand, which she decided was meant to be in thanks. Then Marlene took the photo album back and Lily took that to be a sign that she ought to change the topic of discussion.

'Are you excited – about the protest?' Lily asked conversationally and received a jerk of the head from her friend as she went to replace the album. 'I think I am.' she decided, pushing herself back along Marlene's bed so she could lean against the wall. 'I even brought a change of clothes.'

Marlene turned around to face her, her eyebrow raised. Lily laughed.

'No, not for the protest.' she explained, giggling. 'For afterwards. My parents think I'm at yours for a party, so I have to come back looking like I've been to one.'

Lily closed her eyes and Marlene sat back down beside her.

'It shouldn't be too hard.' She laughed again, but this time there was a bitter undertone. 'The lengths I go to, to lie to my parents…'

…

Later they went downstairs and painted the placards they would be bringing with them. They were just about done when the others started arriving and soon Nellie was announcing it was time to leave. Mary had arrived with her face painted as if at a festival, but she claimed it was her warpaint. Dorcas had rolled her eyes at this, catching Lily's eye; she had smirked in response.

The girls flooed to The Leaky Cauldron in pairs and then Nellie took the rear, kissing Steve swiftly on the lips before leaving. There was a bit of time to go shopping before the protest arrived and Lily decided to abandon her friends in Madam Malkin's and head to Flourish and Blotts. Dorcas leapt at the opportunity to join her, so the two girls made their way together.

'Are you okay?' Lily pried tentatively, watching Dorcas' concernedly as they entered the book shop. An apprehensive frown had been forming on her face all the way there and the more it grew on her friend's face, the more worried Lily became.

'I…' Dorcas trailed off as the shop bell tinkled upon their entrance. 'I…'

Lily didn't push her, choosing to lead the way to the potions section of the shop. She scanned the shelves, looking for a book on home remedies; it had occurred to her such a book might be useful to keep at her parents' house, where she didn't have access to a whole library of magic-related books.

'I think this protest's gonna go to shit.' she confessed as Lily found her desired book.

'What do you mean?' Lily asked, her forehead creasing as she stretched her arm to reach for the book.

'I mean, there is no way no Death Eater's are gonna turn up.' she elaborated, pulling at her sleeves. 'From what Mary's been telling me, this some serious protest. Her parents completely banned her from getting involved – said it's gonna attract some dangerous people. She's snuck out anyway but that doesn't change that this is gonna go shit.'

'I know.' Lily sighed. 'I thought that when Mary first told me about it…'

'Yeah…'

Lily gripped tightened on the book she had chosen.

'But this isn't about that.' she said firmly, her voice strong. She wasn't looking at Dorcas but her friend was watching her intently. 'This is about protecting people. This is about my family – about Muggles like them – I'll do anything to keep them safe… anything…'

Dorcas smiled slightly, resting her hand on Lily's.

'C'mon. Let's go pay for that book. It'll be starting soon.'

* * *

**And the protest draws closer...**

**What do you think about some of Marlene's backstory? Sorry for the onslaught of info. I didn't really want to just write it out in a chunky paragraph or two but since Marlene barely speaks she didn't give me much choice. Besides, I didn't really want to draw out a bit of backstory too much. It might seem a bit random now, but Marlene's complicated family will come more into play later on... I'd remember Roland's name if I were you. Oh, and maybe Nathan's too...**

**Anyway, make my day and leave a review! And I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: It's time for the protest, some drama and maybe - just maybe - a little bit of dueling. Are you ready?**

**Disclaimer: I'm sorry but I still only own the storyline and nothing else.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

* * *

Dorcas and Lily bumped into Alice on their way out of the shop. The Hogwarts Head girl looked rather harried, but she smiled when she saw them, stopping to chat. She was clutching a cauldron piled high with books and there was a little sweat on her forehead.

'Frank's mum wanted me to return these for her.' she explained, taking in their questioning glances. 'Apparently, she disagrees with all the authors. I thought I'd offer seeing as I was going shopping already.'

'Staying for the protest?' Dorcas inquired, waving over Alice's shoulder at some Hufflepuffs in their year.

'Wouldn't miss it for the world.' she replied, beaming. 'I don't even need to ask you two. Such typical Gryffindors.'

'I'm glad we're so predictable.' Lily joked, grinning back. 'I'd be offended if you didn't think we were staying. Is Frank here?'

Alice grimaced.

'He's taking his mum to St Mungo's for an appointment.' she said, rolling her eyes at the thought of Augusta Longbottom. 'Frank thinks she's getting Vanishing Sickness, so he wants to get her checked out – she's furious about the whole thing. According to herself, she's never been ill in her life. Frank's with her to make sure she actually goes.'

'Sounds fun.' Lily observed, mimicking Alice's expression.

'I think I'll go find the others.' Dorcas said. 'Bye, Alice.'

'Hey, Lily, are you free tomorrow?' Alice asked, changing topic as Dorcas left.

'Probably.'

'Can I come round to yours?' Lily nodded. 'I would invite you but I'm staying with Frank and I don't want you to have to put up with Augusta. She's wonderful when you get to know her but…'

'Thanks.' Lily chuckled. 'I'd love to have you. We need to a proper catch up. I don't think we've had a decent chat in ages.'

'That's what I was thinking.'

They smiled at each other. From a little way down the shopping street, Lily heard her friends calling her.

'I'd better go.' She hugged Alice briefly. 'See you tomorrow then!'

Hurrying off down the street, Lily reached the others and was handed her placard. Protesters where starting to arrive in droves now, all of them with placards or posters to carry. Some where excited, others nervous, but everyone shared the same determination. They were all of the same opinion of course; the Ministry needed to provided greater protection for Muggles in the face of the Death Eater threat.

Mary squealed excitedly as the start of the protest drew closer, making Hestia and Emmeline wince as one. Then, exactly one minute later, a grand witch with deep red robes Apparated into existence right at the front of the crowd. It became apparent at once, that she was the leader. She smiled graciously at the mill of people, an aura of authority radiating off her. Lily's heart swelled slightly, instantly impressed by this woman despite her having said nothing as of yet. But when she did, Lily was not disappointed.

Pointed her wand at her throat, the woman magically amplified her voice and beamed at all those before her.

'My friends,' she began, her voice wonderfully rich, perfectly suiting the splendour of her robes. 'Today we campaign for the safety of our neighbours, of our fellows, of our friends and family. We are united as one and together we shall fight for what it right. Who are we to allow Muggles to suffer at the hands of other wizards? We have a duty to protect the innocent and tonight we do exactly that.'

Lily found herself clapping, and she wasn't the only one. All through the crowd there were people applauding the witch, cheering, waving at her.

'Let us march!' the witch cried, and they did just that.

Picking up their placards, posters, leaflets and lighting their wands in homage the protestors moved forwards. The red-clad witch led them in a chant and then another. As they moved down the street, Lily glanced about them. Shoppers where stopping to watch, as where those working in the cafes and shops. She saw old Mr Ollivander pause in emptying a cupboard in his shop to watch the procession pass by.

From somewhere in the crowd, someone started singing. Another voice joined in. Then another. And another! Soon the whole group seemed to hum with an old folk song, the wand light casting a beautiful blue cloak over the whole brigade. Lily couldn't help it; a huge grin broke across her face as she listened to her fellows sing a mellifluous tune. She didn't know any of the words, it seemed to be of Wizarding origin, but she couldn't stop beaming.

Her insides were filling with a warm, wonderful balloon. Here she was, protesting, actually doing something. She was fighting. She was making a difference. Raising her placard, a little higher, a little prouder, Lily grinned around at her friends, most of whom had joined in singing.

People were joining them, the harmonious song growing louder and louder as they neared Gringotts. The witch at the front was gliding gracefully, her magnified voice the loudest of the lot, a beautifully laughing note to the way she sang, like that of Alma Cogen. Her own joy was infectious and the balloon inside Lily swelled further.

'Wow…' she breathed, staring around her in wonder, swept along by the protest.

A loud crack distracted her.

A single figure dressed all in black was standing a little way ahead, watching the protest unblinkingly. Then she caught sight of another one; they too were just watching the crowd, almost frozen so still were their movements. But then the procession moved further, bringing them out of sight and Lily stopped thinking about them.

They reached Gringotts just as the Ministry officials. Clearly, judging by the alarmed looks on several of their faces, they hadn't expected so many to arrive and protest. Most rushed into the bank, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

But the Minister of Magic didn't. As the song turned back to chants, Millicent Bagnold appeared, flanked by two Aurors. She waved to several in the crowd and took a detour to converse with the witch who had led the protestors there. The two witches exchanged words, clasping hands and laughing before the Minister's Aurors coughed pointedly, indicating that she was late. With a final wave, Millicent Bagnold disappeared into the bank and the doors slammed shut behind her.

'What're we supposed to do now?' Lily heard Mary ask those around her. 'I mean, if the Minister's gone in…'

'We wait.' Dorcas told her, adjusting her cloak. 'It's when that lot come back out again that matters.'

There was a crackling sound and Nellie gestured that the girls gather around her. She held a jar of bluebell flames, offering it to them.

'Girls come close.' she instructed, beckoning them. 'I don't want you catching a chill. Your parents'll never forgive me.'

Emmeline produced a bulging bag out of nowhere and started handing everyone chocolate frogs. Unwrapping hers, Lily glanced down at the card of the famous witch or wizard. Dumbledore. She smiled and took a bite of the chocolate, relishing its taste. Her eyes wandered to the scene around her, hungry to absorb as much of this experience as possible.

Then her stomach lurched. She could see them lurking in the shadows surrounding the protestors. Wizards and witches, all in hooded cloaks of black, waited, watching the crowd. Lily dropped the remainder of her chocolate frog, the action accompanied by the feeling that the balloon inside her had just burst violently. She was going to be sick.

The cry of recognition that they had company rang through the crowd like wild fire and quick to follow was the sound of cracks as people Disapparated left, right and centre. The cracks were disorientating; they came from every direction.

'Girls!' Nellie was urgent now. 'Hold on tightly to me. I'll get you out of here.'

But before any of them could oblige, the running started. Chaos. A whole band of people trampled through their cluster, throwing the flames Nellie had conjured into the air. Lily leapt away as they landed inches from her feet, starting to set alight to the moss that grew between the street cobbles.

She was jostled into another collection of people, who were all heading in the opposite direction. Unable to resist the throng, Lily was pulled along with them, her head darting about as she kept an eye out for any black-robed individuals. With her injury, she was unable to maintain the speed of her fellows so, gradually, she was left behind, lost in a whole haze of people running in all directions.

'Shit,' Lily said to herself, as she looked wildly around for any sign of her friends. The crowd had brought her right to the wall of Gringotts, preventing any retreat should anyone advance on her.

And luck was not with her as a Death Eater spotted her fighting her way forwards. He leered at her and, as those around her Apparated away, sent a jinx in her direction. She ducked, flinching away from where the stone wall behind her was blasted.

'_Stupefy_.'

Lily sent a Stunning Spell at her opponent as she edged sideways, trying to get away from the wall. It missed him by inches, but this seemed to excite him for he leapt forwards, a strange, animal-like quality to his movements.

With a laugh, he slashed his wand through the air like a whip and gigantic pulse resonated through the air, sending anything in the vicinity flying. Lily dived to the ground just in time, landing on her injured leg with a dull thud. The pulse missed her by less than a centimetre; her entire hair flew up in its wake.

'Jesus Christ!' she cursed as pain flooded through her leg, but she had no choice but to scramble to her feet if she wanted to escape.

There were bodies and debris everywhere. Thinking fast, Lily spotted a vague route through the mess that might get her past this Death Eater. She needed to distract him. Somehow.

A jet of green light came whizzing towards her before she had any chance to hatch a plan. Another Death Eater had joined her opponent. Together they advanced forwards, sprinting in her direction.

'_Impedimenta_!' she cried, pointing her wand at the new comer. It missed. She tried again, '_impedimenta_!'

This time it hit them, and she was left with one opponent while the other struggled against the resistive force bearing down on their movements. Her mind racing, Lily spied bits of broken stone wall on the ground. An idea formed in her mind.

'_Oppugno_.' she muttered, directing her wand at the pieces of wall and sending them at her quarry.

Distracted, the Death Eater was forced to blast each bit of stone away and she was able to dart past and through the sea of unconscious bodies. At least she hoped they were only unconscious. If they were dead…

Lily's leg was proving to be problematic. Landing on it seemed to have caused a permanent ache to take up residence so she was limited to a limping run. It was sluggish to move in a different direction so weaving in and out of bodies, other duels, and running wizards and witches was difficult to say the least.

There was no sign of her friends anywhere and Lily could only hope they had got out safely. She herself would have to floo back through The Leaky Cauldron, so she made her aim to reach the end of Diagon Alley. But she forgot about this resolution relatively quickly.

A spell caught her in the midriff; it felt like a punch in the gut, only worse. She doubled over, unable to keep running. Whoever had hit her, had skilled aim. They clearly knew what they were doing.

The fire started by Nellie's bluebell flames had spread and there was smoke in the air. It was making it difficult to see. Lily squinted, staggering forwards – or at least what seemed like the forwards direction; this smoke was making her disorientated. But she had to keep going. Any progress was good progress.

Or so she thought.

'Mmmm…' a voice crooned as she stumbled into something solid. The stench of foul breath clung to the very fibres of her face. They inhaled deeply, as if smelling her. 'Mudblood… Nice and sweet to taste.'

Whoever she had knocked into, shoved her roughly to the ground, their own weight falling with her so that their own face was inches from her own. She came face to face with that of a filthy, hairy man, a face she was all too familiar with. How he managed to look so wolfish even when not transformed had always frightened her, even when he was but a moving picture in the _Daily Prophet_.

She struggled beneath Fenrir Greyback's inhumanely strong grip. Blood rushed around her body, the adrenalin it brought building her fear in every limb of her body. He grinned, his face so grubby, the dirt seemed woven into his skin.

With one of his claw-like hands, he ripped open the buttons of Lily's coat. She gasped, wanting to cry out for help but he slammed the fist of his other hand into her eye. She barely managed to scrunch up her eyes before the collision. Returning his attention to her clothes, Greyback thrust up her jumper to reveal where the spell had hit her midriff.

What had felt like a punch had turned out to be a cut, one that bled bright crimson blood. Bending down, he ran his tongue along the wound, tasting every molecule of blood there was to be found on it. Lily's body contorted away from him, but his nails dragged their way through her cheek to keep her where she was.

Her fingers tightened around her wand in agony. The wand in return sent a jolt of heat through her hand, which spread up her arm. She had to get out of this. She had to cast a spell and save herself.

'_Flipendo_,' she whispered, barely managing to form the word at all. The jinx that left her wand was weak, but it was enough to get Greyback off her. He let out a furious roar.

Scrambling to her feet, Lily hurried to her left, limping as fast as she could, hoping to lose Greyback in the smoke. In the corner of her eye, she spied a glimmer of light, likely from a shop window. With nothing to lose, Lily decided to risk it, changing course and wrenching the door open when she reached it.

Mr Ollivander started as she burst into his shop, shaking and likely covered in grime and blood. She coughed, the soot from the air outside making its presence in her lungs known.

'Miss… er – Evans…' he said, startled.

'Please, _please_, sir,' she begged, limping further into the shop. 'Can I hide in here – I'm being chased?'

'I – of course.' he muttered, ushering her over to the cupboard she had seen him empty earlier.

With a great effort, Lily clambered inside, and Mr Ollivander shut the cupboard doors behind her. She clung to her legs, every part of her body aching with pain and fear. Her cheek was stinging where Greyback had dragged his claws and her eye throbbed from his punch.

She prayed he wouldn't find her here. If he did, then it would surely be her end. There was no escaping this cupboard.

The shop bell tinkled, and Lily's heart leapt into her throat. She could hear Mr Ollivander stammering something. Her insides clenched.

'I'm looking for a Mudblood girl.' Another cough was starting to bubble up inside of Lily's throat. 'She tastes nice. You'd better not be hiding her from me.'

'I – I don't know what you're talking about…' Mr Ollivander tried weakly.

'Go on,' Greyback crooned. 'Tell me where she is… Or I'll make you my dessert.'

'I – I… Please…' Mr Ollivander stuttered. 'She… No…'

There was a thud as Greyback roughly pushed the old wandmaker to the floor. He began to prowl about the room, inhaling a deep breath with each step, almost as if he was trying to taste his way to her hiding place.

The cough was still building in Lily's chest, but she swallowed it down. The tickle at the back of her throat remained as she clutched at her legs, hugging them close to her. Here, in the pitch-black inside of the cupboard, she could see nothing, only hear the great breaths and sniffs coming from Greyback.

'Come out, Mudblood…' he purred. He was so close. His voice had burst easily through the crack between the two cupboard doors, ringing in Lily's ears. 'I'm getting hungry.'

There was silence for a moment. No one moved; not Mr Ollivander still lying on the floor; not Lily holding her breath in the cupboard; not Greyback standing a mere metre from Lily's hiding place. Then, without warning, he pounced, shaking the whole cupboard and her with it.

Lily choked on her own breath. This was it. She was going to die. Professor Acranum's prediction meant nothing.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Yay! I'm just keeping up my daily dose of cruelness. Sorry. Or am I?**

**So what did you think? Any guesses as to who the grand witch is? And what about poor Lily? Will she make it out of the cupboard without being Greyback's snack? We'll see...**

**Make my day and leave a review! You know you love me really.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: 'Ello, 'ello, 'ello... I'm in a really good mood today! We're almost at 20 followers! Thank you guys so much for reading this story! I really enjoy writing it so I'm glad you guys enjoy reading it! By the way, sorry for uploading this late but I've been really busy with family stuff.**

**Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

* * *

Tears were running down her cheeks, mingling with the grime and blood to make the scratches there sear with pain. The hand she had around her wand trembled uncontrollably, preparing itself for one final, desperate spell when the cupboard inevitably opened. Not that it would have made a difference if she had had fifty wands with her. Greyback would be far quicker grabbing her than she would be firing a spell.

A painfully drawn out scraping sound made its way along the door. Lily shivered. She could hear him fumbling about in the gap beneath the cupboard. This was a game to him. He knew exactly where she was. Hearing him straighten, Lily's heart rate sped up, readying itself for an escape that was impossible to achieve. She had cornered herself by hiding in here.

His hands fastened around the handles of the cupboard door. His foul breath was already pushing itself inside, floating before her face, taunting her of her fate.

'Oy, Greyback!' a gruff voice shouted from the door. 'Act like a wizard for once and come help we get these blood traitors. We're leaving soon and I want some kills. You can raid Ollivander's later.'

There was a snarl from just outside Lily's hiding spot. Then, Greyback turned, striding from the shop, kicking over the spindly chair by the door for good measure and slamming the door behind him.

Lily waited a second before nudging open the cupboard doors. Gingerly, she climbed out, reaching out and holding onto the shop counter for support; she was shaking so badly she couldn't stand without it. Tears were still streaming from her eyes and she looked around for Mr Ollivander. The wandmaker was getting to his feet and, with a flick of his wand, had the blinds come down over the shop window.

'I'm afraid I don't know any healing spells.' he said quietly, brushing himself down and focusing on her with his pale, moon-like eyes. 'But I think we could both do with a cup of tea.'

'Yes, thank you.' Lily mumbled, following him into the back room with a great deal of effort. Moving seemed to abate her trembling somewhat, but all her injuries were singing with pain, making their presence known. She thought her leg injury from before might have started bleeding again, and she knew that the scratches on her face and the cut on her midriff must be in a similar state.

'Is Earl Grey agreeable?' Mr Ollivander inquired, shuffling over to a teapot in the corner of the room that stood on an isolated table. Using his wand, he conjured boiling water, directing it into the teapot.

'Earl Grey's fine.' Lily said, hobbling over to a rickety old chair and carefully lowering herself into it.

Mr Ollivander added two tea bags to the teapot and stirred the liquid for a moment. Then he summoned a small table and another chair over to where Lily sat and came over. Conjuring two tea cups, he poured Lily some and she took it, murmuring her thanks.

'I'm sorry for hiding in your shop.' Lily burst out after a moment of silent tea drinking. 'I wasn't thinking. I could just as easily hidden outside somewhere.'

'Think nothing of it, Miss Evans.' he assured her, taking a sip of tea. 'We must band together in such times.'

'… I suppose so.' Lily agreed, staring into the depths of her tea. 'I still shouldn't have – I mean – he'll come after you now…'

'There are some wizards who possess an excellent memory and carry out every single threat they ever make.' He replaced his tea cup on the table and leaned back in his chair, observing her with his silvery eyes. 'Fenrir Greyback is not among them.'

'But –'

'I am a wandmaker, Miss Evans.' he interrupted patiently. 'My craft is just as valuable to his side as it is yours. I imagine there would be severe repercussions for him should he kill one – I doubt he would truly risk it.'

Lily said nothing in response. She wasn't quite sure she shared Mr Ollivander's view on the matter. He raised an excellent point but, then again, Greyback did not strike her as the kind of person who thought of consequences. The _Daily Prophet_ had reported only last month that Greyback was behind a series of gruesome murders, where the victims had turned up in alleyways, their bodies half eaten.

From the next room, they heard the shop bell chime. Mr Ollivander got to his feet, gesturing that Lily remain where she was. Her hand made towards her wand.

'I'm afraid we're closed – Euphemia!'

Mr Ollivander returned to the back room, followed by the witch who had led the protest. Euphemia, that was her name. Even her name was grand.

'Galloping Gorgons!' she exclaimed, her eyes taking in the state Lily was in. Compared to Euphemia's wonderful clothes and her hair, which had remained in an elegant bun, Lily felt her own appearance must have seemed even worse. There she was, caked in dirt and blood, when Euphemia, who too had been fighting, might as well have stepped out of a grand ballroom for a breath of air so unscathed did she look. 'I was worried when I saw Greyback coming out of the shop and – well, goodness me. Dear, _are you all right_?'

'Just a bit injured.' Lily replied, feeling rather shy in the presence of such a stately individual. 'I'll heal.'

Euphemia crossed the room in two gliding strides and gently tilted Lily's head so she could get a better look at the claw marks Greyback had left in her cheek. A hiss of air escaped her lips.

'I could clean this for you, dear.' she told her, and Lily nodded obediently. 'My husband's the one who's good at healing with magic – but he's galivanting around somewhere with Dumbledore at the moment – I could make a potion, but I imagine you just want to go home.'

'Thank you.' Lily muttered, wincing as Euphemia poked her cheek with her wand, casting a non-verbal spell on her injury.

'Do you have any healing books at home – I would say a potion or paste would work better with this?' Euphemia asked, eyeing her in a rather hawk-like fashion.

Lily reached into the pocket of her ripped coat and fumbled about. Marlene had given it to her last Christmas and the pockets had Undetectable Extension Charms in them. Eventually, she found the book she had bought in Flourish and Blotts earlier that day. Euphemia examined it.

'This one will do.' She rifled through the pages, folding down a few of interest. 'I'll take you home myself if you wish and we can collect some ingredients from my house to take with you.'

'I need to see my friend first.' Lily said. 'I want to check she's all right – and I left my stuff at hers.'

'You came with Nellie Price, didn't you?' Euphemia checked and Lily nodded.

'Did they all –'

'Yes, they all got out.' Euphemia smiled kindly. 'I accompanied Marlene to The Leaky Cauldron myself – you were all separated I think.'

'We were.'

'Well, Garrick,' Euphemia began, clapping her hands and smiling over her shoulder at the wandmaker, who had hovered behind her, unsure of what to do with himself. 'I think I'll take this young lady home. Thank you for looking after her.'

'It was no trouble.' He bowed and Euphemia helped Lily to her feet.

Holding on tightly to her arm, she said, 'we'll be Apparating if that's all right.'

And then, feeling as if a hook had latched onto her stomach, Lily was yanked out of Mr Ollivander's back room.

…

There was pandemonium in Marlene's house when Lily arrived; Nellie almost fainted at the state of her and had to be caught by Steve before she fell over. Marlene looked as if she might vomit. Most of the others had already gone home, but Dorcas was just visible through one of the doors, lying on a sofa, an ice pack pressed to her face.

Lily asked to have a shower and then went into the bathroom, collecting her change of clothes along the way. A knock on the door had Marlene bringing in fresh bandages and towels, which she left by the sink before leaving. Once satisfactorily clean, Lily turned off the shower and stepped out, wiping away some of the condensation on the mirror to look at the injuries Greyback had left her with. His nails had scraped far deeper into her skin that she had realised but the cut on her midriff wasn't as bad she had feared. Thankfully.

Drying herself, Lily applied her new bandages and then changed into the outfit that would convince her parents she had just been at a party. Packing her old clothes into her bag, Lily placed her used towels in the washing basket next to the sink and left the bathroom.

Euphemia was waiting for her in the hallway. Her eyebrow raised itself at Lily's clothes.

'When you said you had a spare change of clothes, I was imagining something more comfortable.' she remarked as Nellie bustled in, Marlene trailing after her.

'Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry you had to go through that.' Nellie fussed, hugging her goodbye. 'And with Fenrir Greyback of all people.'

'Don't worry about it.' Lily replied dismissively, hugging Marlene as well and calling goodbye to Dorcas, who waved lamely from the other room, before stepping outside with Euphemia.

Euphemia was still watching her clothes disapprovingly.

'My parents think I'm at a party.' she explained, guilt seeping through her.

'Do you often lie to your parents?'

'All the time.' Lily whispered as they crossed the boundary between Marlene's house and the area free of the Anti-Apparition Jinx. Euphemia didn't say anything to that but grabbed onto Lily's arm and they Disapparated.

…

They materialised in what was clearly Euphemia's kitchen. It was the kind of place Lily's own mother would have loved to live in. Everything was aged but in a beautiful way. The Victorian stove looked so homely and even if the bubbling cauldron sat comfortably on it was not something that Mrs Evans would ever use, Lily could imagine her mother in a place like this. Mrs Evans loved old buildings. The facilities were Victorian or Edwardian but the building itself was clearly far older, Tudor perhaps.

Lily took a seat at the scrubbed wooden table while Euphemia bustled over to a shelf of all sorts of dried plants and herbs.

'We'll have to keep our voices down.' Euphemia informed her conversationally. 'My son doesn't know about the protest and I don't want him to find out I was there until the papers come out tomorrow. James can be quite reckless, especially since Sirius is staying here – I don't trust him or Sirius at these kinds of events yet.'

'J-James?' Lily stammered, her heart pounding suddenly.

'Yes, James.' Euphemia smiled over her shoulder. 'He's in his sixth year at Hogwarts – as I imagine are you.'

'So you're Euphemia Potter?' Lily checked slowly, her mind praying that James didn't find them here. If this was his house and she bumped into him, things would be awkward. They might get on at school, but outside of school was a very different matter.

'I am indeed. I'm sorry,' she chuckled. 'I suppose I never actually introduced myself.'

'Neither did I…' Lily mumbled, looking down at the table.

'Unfortunately for you, I knew you already. As soon as I saw your red hair and green eyes, I knew you must be Lily Evans.'

'How did you –'

'You can be quite the topic in my house sometimes.' Euphemia said vaguely, coming over to the table, her arms full of ingredients. 'Here, dear, I think this is everything you'll need.'

'Thank you.' Euphemia conjured a paper bag for her and deposited the ingredients in it, smiling at her. Then she froze.

'Don't you dare come in this kitchen, young man!' she called suddenly, and Lily heard the sound of someone stopping just behind the kitchen door.

'But, _mum_,' an all too familiar voice whined. 'I just want a snack.'

'Come back in half an hour. I'm wrapping your Christmas presents in here.' Euphemia replied tartly, winking at Lily. Lily bit back a laugh as she heard James huff from the other side of the door.

'Fine.'

Laughing to herself, Euphemia indicated that the leave and Lily obediently took her arm as well as the bag of ingredients. Telling Euphemia her address, Lily braced herself and they Disapparated.

…

Mr and Mrs Evans were waiting for her as soon as her keys unlocked the front door. She had barely shut it behind her when her mother pounced on her.

'What on earth happened to your face?' she demanded, rounding on her daughter, a steely glint in her eye.

'There was a fight.' Lily lied tiredly, trying to get passed her mother. 'I tried to split it up and they didn't like it.'

'I thought you said Marlene was throwing the party. What kind of people do you hang out with that would do _that_ to anyone?' Mrs Evans folded her arms, unimpressed by her daughter's response.

'Mary brought some of her cousins – they're a bit rowdy.' Lily improvised, not looking at her mother.

'But –'

'Mum, just don't.' she said softly. 'I don't want to talk about it.'

She cut around her mother, forced a smile in her father's direction and then disappeared up into her room. Collapsing onto her bed, Lily stared up at her ceiling, tears starting to prick in her eyes. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this up; what she hadn't taken into account before was the injuries she might gain. She couldn't hide those, and her parents weren't stupid. It wouldn't be long before they started prying and, truthfully, Lily couldn't remember all the lies she had told them. One contradiction and the game would be up.

'Fuck…' she murmured, rolling over and preparing for a restless night.

* * *

**So what did you think? Did you like Euphemia? I was actually a bit nervous to write her. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted her to be like for ages when I was first planning this story. But I went for her personality being like this. Is it good?**

**Make my day and leave a review :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: And I'm back... I hope you liked last chapter. I was feeling a bit miserable after the scene with Greyback so I thought Euphemia would be a great addition to lighten the mood - as well as James's little cameo.**

**Anyway, to this chapter and beyond! Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

* * *

He was waiting for her the moment she closed her eyes, in a world where he had wrenched open the cupboard door. Greyback's claws dug into her arms, seizing her and throwing her out onto the floor. Ripping off her top, he pinned her squirming, struggling form to the ground with his knees. Now that her torso was entirely exposed, except by that covered by her bra, he lowered he head to her level.

His abnormally long tongue ran up the length of her arm and when she fought to push him off, he laughed and, with great strength, snapped her arm. The pain was unbearable. The possibility of just ripping off the broken part seemed almost welcome; anything to stop the agony.

Greyback's tongue had made its way to her shoulder and here it chose to settle, marking its territory. Slowly, he brought his lips to the same spot on her shoulder and sucked. Lily struggled fruitlessly. Then, without warning, he sunk his teeth into her skin, tearing out a whole chunk of flesh.

Lily was screaming. She wanted to die. She wanted to escape this hell.

…

Lily threw herself into consciousness, shaking uncontrollably as she stared around her empty room. She clutched at her shoulder, letting out a slow breath of air when she found it intact. Glancing to the clock on her bedside table, she saw that it was five in the morning and thus made the decision that now that she was awake, she might as well get up.

Her whole body ached tiredly as she stretched, watching the trembles subside. Sliding out of bed, Lily padded over to her cupboard and pulled out some clean clothes. Alice was visiting her today and she would have to make a start on those healing potions. It wouldn't do for Petunia and Vernon to see her in her current state and the idea that she might brew potions with them in the house was laughable.

Sighing, Lily headed into the bathroom, washed and dressed. Once back in her room, she collected the ingredients Euphemia had given her as well as the potions book she had bought. Each step she took down the staircase was a tentative, worried she would wake her parents; she didn't want to give them any more reasons to be suspicious of her. Being up in the early hours of the morning was not something Lily usually did by choice.

'Right…' Lily hummed to herself when she got into the kitchen, opening each cabinet in search of a pot to brew her potion in.

Euphemia had folded over the page on a supposed 'cure-all', so she decided on trying that potion first. She selected Mrs Evans' largest cooking pot and set it on the hob. Then she set about weighing and chopping her ingredients.

Lily yawned. The work that she usually found so calming and pleasantly methodical was only reminding her of how early it was, of her lack of sleep. Slicing up a Valerian Root, Lily shivered suddenly, a flash of her nightmare darting across her mind. Putting down the knife, she rested her hands on the counter, staring out of the kitchen window onto the street. She sighed.

'Fuck this.' she muttered, picking up some of her prepared ingredients and flinging them into the pot. '_Fuck this_!'

As she fumbled for more ingredients, her hand knocked against the knife, sending it clattering to the floor, missing her left foot by inches. She let out a stifled but frustrated yell, stooping down to pick it up and slamming it back down on the counter.

'This is so fucking stupid!' she seethed, dumping the rest of the ingredients into the pot and pouring in some water. She turned on the hob and started to stir her concoction, tapping her foot while she waited for it to boil.

'Morning.' Mr Evans' voice broke through her impatience, making her heart leap. 'You okay, love? Not like you to be down so early.'

'I'm fine.' Lily replied, trying to smother the waspish tone that managed to slip out of her mouth. 'Wonderful, actually.'

'You can tell me, y'know.' he informed her, walking over to the fridge and taking out an orange juice carton. 'I'm a decent enough listener.'

Lily felt her eyes water; her father was always patient, even when he knew she was lying to him, so she made sure her gaze was fixed firmly on the brewing potion. Stirring it determinately, she shook her head.

'I'm fine.' She sniffed. 'I just wanted a head start on this potion. It'll heal my face. I can't have Tuney seeing me like this. I – I'll embarrass her in front of Vernon otherwise. I won't do that to her.'

Mr Evans helped himself to a glass from the cupboard and then went to sit down at the kitchen table, pouring himself some orange juice. Lily's face was completely obscured from view, but he watched her nonetheless, quietly taking a sip of his drink before speaking.

'She does care about you, y'know.' Mr Evans said, setting down his glass. 'Even if she doesn't show it.'

'Ha.' Lily scoffed, bringing down the heat on the hob as her potion started to boil. It needed to simmer for two hours before being ready for use.

'You're sisters. 'Course she cares!'

'Being sisters doesn't mean anything.' Lily retorted, taking a deep breath as her temper started to rise again. 'If it meant something, I wouldn't have to stare at my feet the whole time she's here, just so I don't have to see her glaring at me.'

'You still care about her, so why shouldn't she care about you?' her father reasoned, taking another sip of orange juice. Lily spun around to face him, her arms folded, her face set in the scowl.

'Because I'm not the one who found out their sister was a witch, spat in her face and called her a freak.' Lily told him tartly before running a hand through her hair. She took a deep breath. 'Let's change topic, dad. I don't want to get annoyed at you for something that isn't your fault.'

'All right then.' Mr Evans yawned. Then he grinned. 'Got yourself a boyfriend yet?'

'_Dad_!'

…

'You should be proud of me.' Alice declared as she hugged Lily in greeting.

'Oh?'

'I took the Muggle train all by myself.'

Lily laughed, shaking her head slightly. She pulled out of the hug, snorting at how pleased Alice appeared. Her cheeks were a little rosy from the cold, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

'You know most Muggles do that every day, don't you?' Lily pointed out, gesturing that Alice come inside.

'I know that.' Alice laughed too. 'Hey, why don't we go for a walk? I've been sat down for an hour on a really stuffy train.'

'Why not? Just let me get my coat.' Lily slipped into her coat (Euphemia had kindly repaired it for her) and pulled on some shoes. 'Let's go.'

They walked arm in arm through the streets of Cokeworth, Lily pointing out random places in which some small anecdote or other had occurred. Eventually, they reached a small playground absent of anyone due to the cold December weather. Alice led the way over to a set of swings and they sat down. They sat in silence, Lily rocking her swing a little as she sat on it.

'Frank proposed to me.' Alice said suddenly, scuffing her feet on the ground. 'Last night when I got back from the protest.'

'And what did you say?' Lily cocked her head to one side, observing her friend, who was looking at the ground, her expression rather vacant.

'I said yes.' Alice breathed, gripping onto the hem of her coat. 'We were just sat in his mum's living room, he'd just healed a cut on my lip, and he asked me. He didn't have a ring or anything, but he said he'd just realised in that moment that he – he couldn't live without me… so he asked…'

'Wow…' Lily smiled softly. 'That's so sweet.'

'Yeah.' Alice echoed her smile, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. 'Yeah…'

'I'm sensing a 'but' on it's way.' Lily observed, her eyes narrowing. 'Alice?'

There was a squeaking sound as Alice twisted the swing she was sat on so that she directly faced Lily.

'Do you ever feel like we're kids pretending to be adults?' she asked, her eyes unblinking. Lily stared at her. 'I mean, look at us. I'm seventeen, you're sixteen, but we're out here going to protests, trying to protect our families, acting like we're the adults. But we're still kids. We shouldn't be doing any of that.'

Lily reached out and squeezed her friend's hand.

'Being young doesn't make your feelings any less true.' she said quietly, smiling reassuringly. 'If you love Frank and you want to marry him, don't feel guilty about it.'

'You're right.' Alice relaxed slightly.

'Of course I am.' Lily winked. 'There's a reason you keep me around.'

…

'They're here!' Mrs Evans screeched from the front room and Mr Evans, who had been tasked with setting up the array of drinks, smashed the wine bottle he had been carrying in shock. The swear word emitted by him, that rang around the whole house, was enough to make Lily fall off the sofa with laughter. 'Oh, _love_!'

She tutted over at her husband and then pulled up her daughter, who was rolling around on the floor giggling madly.

'Lily, could you get the door? I need to get some paper towels.'

'Sure.' Lily shuffled out into the hallway, taking a deep breath and plastering a delighted smile on her face. Despite the fact that Petunia wouldn't be delighted to see her, she was going to be the bigger person, even if she was just acting herself. She pulled open the door, revealing Petunia striding up the drive, hauling a large suitcase behind her. Heaving out the other suitcase from their car was Vernon.

'Move out of the way.' Petunia said impatiently. 'We can't bring in the luggage with you standing there.'

'Sorry.' Lily stepped to the side, pulling the front door a little wider open. 'Have you got enough stuff there, Vernon?' she called jovially out to her sister's boyfriend. 'I think that suitcase could fit a whole house in it.'

'Don't try to be funny.' her sister hissed in her ear. 'You're embarrassing me!'

Lily bit back the filthy retort, just managing to catch it on the tip of her tongue. She was knocked into the wall as Vernon barged into the vicinity, banging his suitcase accidentally against her injured leg.

'Jesus fu–' Lily caught herself just in time, clutching at her leg as it seized up in pain. Noticing the glares in her direction, she forced a sickly smile onto her cheeks. 'Why don't you give me your coats? Mum and dad are just setting the table.'

Vernon thrust his coat at her and then took to hauling his suitcase up the stairs. Petunia waited for him to disappear into her room before she approaching her sister with her own coat.

'Hide that bandage – it's showing through your tights. I don't want Vernon to think my sister's a ruffian!' she snapped at her, throwing her coat at Lily with enough force to knock out a cart horse.

'I think it's too late, Tuney.' Lily informed her mildly. 'I think you already let it slip when you told him last year, I'm in a gang.'

'You – urgh – just none of your freak stuff while he's here!' Petunia let out a furious breath of air, seizing her suitcase and storming up the stairs with it.

Elbowing the front door shut, Lily shook her head slightly. She hung up the coats and limped into the living room, giving a thumbs up to her parents, who were preoccupied with clearing up the spilled wine. Lowering herself onto the sofa, Lily winced. She hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, but her leg injury had seemed to be getting worse since the protest and Vernon's suitcase swinging into it certainly wasn't helping matters.

Lily closed her eyes, feeling blood pump through her body, making her leg throb uncomfortably. Clearly, she needed to ask Madame Pomfrey for a stronger painkilling potion when she got back to school.

'Pet!' Mrs Evans cried as Petunia and Vernon entered the living room. 'You look so well! And you too Vernon!'

She hugged both of them tightly and then let go so her husband could greet them too. Mr Evans hugged his daughter and shook hands with Vernon, clapping him on the back as he did so.

'Come on, you two. Take a seat.' Mr Evans steered them to the dining table, grinning broadly. 'Vernon, tell me about that new car of yours. Looks a dream.'

'Lily, could you bring through the starter? I left the smoked salmon in the fridge.' Mrs Evans asked, smiling over at her youngest daughter before turning her attention to Petunia. 'Now, Pet, I want to hear all about Yvonne's wedding. Such a shame we couldn't make it. I've seen photos of course but it's never the same.'

Leaving the rest of them to it, Lily did as she was told and went in search of the starter. Slices of smoked salmon, squares of watermelon and baguette was Mrs Evans' favourite combination for an entrée, she thought it to be very sophisticated. Shifting about the kitchen, Lily collected all the required foods on a tray, pausing every so often to rub her twinging leg.

When she came back, everyone had settled at the table, Mrs and Mrs Evans in their usual places and Petunia and Vernon opposite them. Setting the food in the centre of the table, Lily rested the tray against the wall to use again later and sat down at the end of the table, making sure her feet avoided the pointy heels on her sister's feet. She watched everyone help themselves to food, the buzz of talk not filtering through her brain into actual words. She felt queasy; standing up for too long had left her feeling slightly faint.

Fumbling for her glass slightly, Lily took a large gulp of cold water, hoping to abate her irritated stomach. It didn't do much, but at least she was able to translate the hubbub into words again.

'Well, we've actually got some news.' Petunia was declaring smugly. Something lit up in Mrs Evans' eyes, a mother's intuition leaping into action. Vernon reached out and held Petunia's hand, his own smirk echoing that of his girlfriend.

'Knocked up, are you?' Mr Evans asked, grinning. He stopped quickly when his wife glared at him. 'So, er, your news…'

'Vernon and I are engaged.' Petunia announced, wiping out her free hand to reveal a ring sporting a large diamond. Mrs Evans squealed, her suspicions entirely confirmed. Grabbing her daughter's hand, she held it up higher so that the gem reflected strands of light throughout the room. The reflected rays made Lily's head hurt, but she forced herself to look cheerful.

'Congratulations…' she said weakly as her head pounded. 'For how long?'

'Since last week.' Petunia replied, staring at her ring and then Vernon adoringly, for once not offended her sister had dared open her mouth. 'We went out to a really expensive restaurant – _La Muraille_, it's in London – and then he asked me, just as we were having dessert.'

'How romantic!' Mrs Evans gushed, letting go of Petunia's hand to hold onto her husband's, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 'It sounds just wonderful. Your dad did something similar for me – he took us an expensive hotel for the weekend.'

'Thought to myself, if she says no, at least I'll have stayed some place fancy once in my life.' Mr Evans joked, and Lily snorted, instantly regretting her sudden movement when her head protested. Mrs Evans hit her husband lightly on the head.

'Don't mind him.' she said to the newly engaged couple. 'We're incredibly happy for you, aren't we, William?'

''Course we are.' Mr Evans grinned again. 'It's not everyday you get engaged. Tell you what, why don't we have that champagne in the fridge? I know we're saving it for tomorrow but –'

'Lily, could you get it for us?' Mrs Evans asked, nodding approvingly at her husband's suggestion.

Lily nodded, getting to her feet. She managed to make it to the hallway before the situation with her leg really hit her. Swaying where she stood, Lily threw out an arm and clung onto the cabinet of Mrs Evans' fine cutlery, saved purely for Christmas day and birthdays, so that she wouldn't fall over, attracting the attention of those at the dining table. The scene before her swam for a moment before settling back down, her head continuing to echo the sensation as she cautiously headed into the kitchen. This was going to be a long evening.

…

Lily had another nightmare that night, this one thrusting her into consciousness at around one in the morning. She shifted around restlessly for a while, but her leg was stinging irritably so she slid out of bed and stumped her way over to where she kept her potions. A tablespoon of painkilling potion later and she was off in search of a fresh glass of water, hoping to rid herself of the potion's appalling taste, not to mention it always burned her throat a little on the way down.

It was until she was leaving again, a glass clutched in her hand, that she noticed the front door was ajar. Her heart leapt. Had they been burgled? Or worse, was there some stranger in the house? Thinking she ought to investigate, Lily produced her wand from her dressing gown pocket and nudged the door wider open, looking for clues of forced entry. There weren't any.

A wizard maybe? But if that were true, then that meant –

'Put that thing away!' Petunia snapped from Lily's right, where she sat on the front steps, a lit cigarette between her long fingers. 'Someone could see you!'

Lily scoffed but pocketed her wand.

'Does Vernon know you smoke?' Lily challenged, not remorseful at the sight of her sister's glare since she had had her thinking their house might have been broken into. She folded her arms, watching Petunia take a long drag and then let out a large, billowing cloud of smoke.

'He knows I'm giving up.'

Lily snorted, leaning against the door frame, still watching her sister, who tutted crossly.

'I think the idea is that you don't smoke when you give up.' she pointed out mildly, and Petunia scowled further.

'Thanks for the advice.' Petunia sneered back and Lily shrugged. 'What're you doing up, anyway? It's gone one.'

'Just woke up.' Lily replied vaguely, taking a sip of her water. Her sister's eyes narrowed.

'We might not get on, but I know when you're lying.'

'Good for you.' Lily mocked, not in the mood to humour her sister. 'Well, why don't you use your superior intelligence to guess why I'm out of my nice warm bed and talking to you?'

Petunia considered her for a moment, not one to back down from a challenge. If she had been a witch and attended Hogwarts, Lily liked to think her sister would have been a fellow Gryffindor. She had a great deal of pride.

'It's a boy,' she tried, eyeing Lily carefully, puffing up defensively when she raised her eyebrows.

'Sure, Tuney.' She applauded slowly. '_Well done_.'

'Your leg – it's got to do with your leg.' Petunia's eyes lit up with triumph and Lily rolled her eyes at this need to come out on top.

'Congratulations.'

'W-what did you do to it?' her sister inquired slowly. 'Not that I care, I'm just curious…'

'You really want to know?' Petunia nodded and Lily smirked, leaning in as if about to divulge a gigantic secret. In spite of herself, Petunia mimicked her sister, her eyes widening with interest. 'It was a lion – a great big one – it jumped at me and tried to eat my leg off.'

'You're lying.' Petunia said at once, deflating with disappointment.

'Prove it.' Lily told her carelessly, yawning widely. 'I'm going back to bed. Sleep well, Tuney. Run if you see a lion for me.'

She waved lazily and ventured back into the house, leaving her sister staring after her, long after Lily had retired to bed.

* * *

**Did you like that little scene between Lily and Petunia? Make my day and leave a review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Welcome back! I hope you're having a great day! I'm here with another chapter to really put the cherry on top. And you'd better put your seatbelts on as there's more fun coming up!**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

'Welcome back,' Dumbledore was beaming around at the students. 'I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.'

His smiling sentiment was not shared by Lily and her friends. Lily rubbed at her leg; it had been aching all day and when she stood for too long, she started to feel sick. Dorcas, who was sat to her right, touched her jaw gently – it had been broken by a Death Eater at the protest and Nellie was no professional Healer though she had tried her best. Marlene, Hestia and Emmeline were all staring at their empty plates, a pained flickering in the back of their eyes. And Mary was slumped against the table, her head hidden by her hands; Mr and Mrs MacDonald had been furious to discover that she had sneaked out, to a protest nonetheless that they had warned her to stay away from.

'But I have kept you long enough. Tuck in!'

As talk broke out, Mary slowly raised her head, glancing up at the High Table as the food appeared.

'It's all very well him smiling.' she said bitterly, stabbing two sausages with her fork and dumping them on her plate. 'He's not doing anything. I thought he's supposed to be the greatest wizard of all time…'

'I'm sure he's doing something.' Lily replied, experimentally swallowing a mouthful of soup. It did not settle well in her stomach. 'I think Eup–' she broke of, considering James might overhear her and thus find out she had met his mother. The boy had an eerily good sense of hearing sometimes.

'Well, he's not now.' Mary grumbled, glaring down at her fork.

'Neither are you.' Lily pointed out mildly. 'I think you're both entitled to eat once in a while. If no one ate, we'd all be dead and You–Know–Who would have nothing to do.'

'Oh, you're so funny.' Mary muttered and Lily grinned slightly, shaking her head slightly. She quickly regretted the motion as her stomach churned.

But Lily didn't push the matter any further. Since the protest Mary had been in a rather unpredictable mood. What had been girlish excitement before the protest had been roughly eclipsed by something that Mary had no inclination in sharing.

'Mae, don't get pissed at Lily.' Dorcas piped up from Lily's right, clearly not so deterred by Mary's shift in personality. 'She's not done anything wrong.'

'I'm not saying she has.' Mary retorted.

'Then why're you getting so pissed?' Dorcas' eyes flashed suddenly. ''Cos the way I looked at the protest, you didn't do anything at all. There I was with a broken jaw, we're all fighting and, where were you? Oh, that's right! Flooed away to safety. How was that for you, Mae?'

'D-don't say that!' Mary stood up, tears pricking in her eyes. 'I did fight! I just couldn't… That's not fair!'

She rushed from the hall, sobbing, many eyes following the single student running from the hall, who stood out terribly from the rest. Lily bit her lip, wondering whether she ought to follow her.

'Bit harsh, Dorcas.' Emmeline reprimanded, frowning at her. 'So what if she got scared and left? Weren't we all fighting to get out safely?'

'Yes, _we_ were fighting.' Dorcas agreed, chuckling darkly. 'She didn't do a thing.'

'I think one of us should go after her.' Hestia mumbled, nervous at the sight of Dorcas' angry expression. Marlene nodded her agreement.

'I'll go.' Lily volunteered, making to stand up but Dorcas' scoff made her falter. 'What?'

'Trust me, Lily, _you'r_e the last person she wants to talk to.'

'And why's that?' Lily was growing impatient at the way Dorcas had decided to be vague. 'What did I do?'

'You didn't do anything, Mary's just a dick.'

Lily's eyes narrowed. If one were to split up their friendship group into best friends, Dorcas and Mary would be paired together, and, despite the fact that she was clearly furious with her, Dorcas was obviously concealing something for her. Tapping her foot, Lily sighed. She didn't have time for this. Her time putting weight on her leg was limited before she started feeling faint and she had to find Mary.

Stepping over her bench, Lily limped down the gap between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. Her head was starting to pound as she reached the double doors into the Entrance Hall. She would have to open one of the to get through and with her brain thumping against her skull, she was sceptical whether she could manage it. Gritting her teeth, Lily reached out and wrenched open the door.

For a second, she her head's condition still felt bearable, but then darkness started to spread across her vision, and she was sucked into unconsciousness. Her leg was really proving to be a significant obstacle.

…

Lily awoke feeling like she was floating in the air. At first, as her drowsy eyes took in the view of the ceiling above her, she thought she might be, since it was far closer to her than that of the Great Hall. Then she blinked, realising she was lying in the hospital wing. Hastily, she pushed herself into a sitting position, her eyes scanning the room for Madame Pomfrey.

She found her by an open window, accepting a letter from a delivery owl. As she shut the window, she unfurled the letter with her free hand, read it quickly and then started striding over to Lily's bed. She was so focused on walking that she started when she noticed her patient was awake.

'Did I faint?' Lily asked unnecessarily. The matron nodded. 'I thought so.'

'Yes, well, I've just received word from St Mungo's. They've scheduled an appointment for you in less than half an hour so I'm going to have to Floo you there.'

'An appointment?' Lily's heart was thumping uncomfortably fast. Surely, that didn't mean she what she thought that meant.

'Since you didn't decide to make one yourself after plainly worsening your injury, I took the liberty of doing it myself.'

'And how was I supposed to do that?' Lily muttered under her breath. 'I'm Muggle-born and I don't own an owl.'

'A – er – friend of mine is the hospital's specialist on curses. He's agreed to see you on such short notice given the urgency of the matter. If you are to have your leg amputated, he will also be your physician.' Madame Pomfrey informed her, starting to usher her out of the bed.

'So, I'm definitely losing my leg?' Lily checked, trying to keep her voice as casual as she could.

'Nothing is definite until you've had your appointment.' she replied vaguely, leading Lily over to the fireplace.

Pointing her wand at the flames in the grate, she murmured something, turning them a vivid green. Together, the two women stepped into the fireplace and as soon as Madame Pomfrey voiced their desired destination, they started whizzing through the world of fireplaces.

Despite how uncomfortable it was, this method of transportation had always made her wonder at the magic behind it. How they flew through this labyrinth of chimneys and fire grates must have had some very complex magic making it function. Ancient magic perhaps. Like that that had caused her injury. The injury that meant she might lose her leg…

Lily's stomach lurched as they stumbled out into the St Mungo's waiting room. For the only magical hospital in Britain it was very quiet, there was only the bored receptionist to keep them company, but then Lily recalled that it must have been quite late. She had fainted at the evening feast and now it would be even later.

'Poppy?'

A tall man appeared at the foot of a set of stairs at the side of the waiting room. He had a thick set of hair that sadly showed sides of receded when one looked closely, despite the voluminous locks that hung over the forehead. He grinned at the pair of them, coming over in his lime green uniform.

'Exon!' Madame Pomfrey smiled in recognition and Lily glancing between the two adults, smirked to herself. 'It's so good to see you.'

They embraced for a little longer than two individuals who were simply friends. Lily coughed.

'I – oh, yes!' Exon let go and held out a hand to Lily, the two adults both blushing brilliantly. 'You must be Lily Evans.'

'That's me.' Lily accepted his hand, blinking a little in surprise at his enthusiasm in shaking it.

'I'm Exon – I mean, Healer Fawley.'

'A pleasure to meet you.' she replied politely.

'Well, we'd better go take a look at your leg. Poppy, you're free to come with us.' He grinned at her and the Hogwarts matron blushed deeper, patting her hair.

'No, no. I'll wait here.'

Nodding, Exon led Lily up the staircase he had come from, helpfully offering her an arm when her leg gave her a little trouble after a whole set of stairs. They eventually reached the second floor and walked along a long corridor of wards until they reached Exon's office. The door was a wonderful mahogany one and he pushed it open, indicating Lily lie down on his examination table.

She obliged, slipping off her tights first and then clambering onto the table. Carefully, he undid the bandage covering her wound and then pulled a magnifying glass out from his robes, polishing it quickly and then peering through it at the blackened flesh.

'Incredible.' he murmured, producing a scalpel and prodding at his area of interest. 'Sorry,' he added hastily, a flush creeping up his neck. 'I'm a researcher by trade… I don't deal with a lot of patients… But I specialise in curses so I'm the man for the job.'

'I don't mind.' Lily assured him, smiling slightly. 'It's nice not to be fussed over.'

Exon didn't say anything for a moment; he had been distracted by one of the streaks of bright green.

'You don't happen to know who cast the curse do you?' he asked, poking it experimentally with his scalpel.

'It was – well, at least I think it was – Bellatrix Lestrange…' Lily confessed uncertainly, starting a little at how fast Exon twisted his head to stare at her face. Then, much to her surprise, he beamed.

'You know, I actually wrote a dissertation just recently on the curses from old pureblood families. Mine's one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight so I grew up hearing about those kinds of things. Not that my family had any themselves – excellent selection of rare plants though – but some of the others do. They pass on family secrets to the next generation and most of the time it's a spell of some kind.'

'Oh.' Lily wasn't quite sure what to do with that information.

'Well, anyway, Bellatrix Lestrange was a Black before she married, and I'll bet this curse comes from them.' Exon put down his scalpel and magnifying glass, moving away from her to a large bookcase behind his desk. He perused it for a moment before picking up a large red volume that looked relatively new. He flicked it open. 'Here we are.'

'If it's a secret then how do you have a book with it in?' Lily inquired curiously, turning her head so she could see him reading. Exon laughed.

'Unluckily for the Blacks, they've had their fair share of betrayals.' He came back over to where Lily lay. 'This is my dissertation. A lot of my knowledge on the subject has its foundations in the interviews I did with Andromeda Tonks. She's a part-time Healer here.'

'And why does she know about them?'

'She used to be a Black too, but unlike her older sister, she's sane.' Exon pulled out his wand. 'She ran away – good on her – and married a Muggle-born when she was nineteen.'

Lily tried to imagine a sane version of Bellatrix Lestrange but failed miserably.

'And then there's her cousin Sirius.' Exon continued conversationally and Lily snapped into a sitting position.

'As in Sirius Black?' she checked, not entirely sure why she was so surprised when Exon nodded. Sirius, just like James, had the air of a pureblood upbringing but somehow, despite not liking him for her first five years at Hogwarts, she had never connected him with the notoriously Slytherin House of Black. He was just very Gryffindor.

'Yeah, him.' Exon grinned, muttering an incantation that made Lily's injury glow bright gold. 'Sorted into Gryffindor, can you imagine? Actually, you're probably in the same year, or at least around the same year group. Do you know him?'

'A little.' Lily admitted and Exon nodded, going back over to the bookcase but this time rifling around in one of the drawers of his desk.

'I met him once at one of these pureblood ball things.' A chuckle escaped him. 'I don't think I've ever seen anyone less happy to be somewhere in my life and I'd seen myself in one of the mirrors in that ballroom.'

Finding a small potion vial, Exon walked back to Lily and handed it to her. Understanding she was expected to drink the potion, Lily did so, wincing at its sharp taste.

'That should stop any pain for what I'm about to do.'

'What're you going to do?' Lily asked, a little panicked at the sudden amplitude in what he was doing. Everything had been quite tame up until now.

'I'm going to cut off any cursed tissue – and any cursed bone if you have any.' he replied as if this was completely ordinary. 'I'll then regrow what I've taken away but it'll be healthy and that should spare you a complete amputation. If it doesn't work, then I'll have to, but the spell I used a second ago – the one that made your injury gold – should have stopped any more spread.'

'Aren't you going to put me under anaesthetic or take me to an operating theatre or something?'

'Is that how Muggles do operations?' he asked, apparently surprised at her concern. 'There's a Santiation Spell in this room so everything automatically cleans itself every few seconds.'

'But I'm going to be conscious when you cut into my leg?' Lily clarified, a little rattled by how blasé Exon was being about the whole thing. She decided then and there that if she was ever injured in a way that meant she could attend either a Muggle or magical hospital, she would always choose the Muggle one.

'Of course not.' Exon laughed. 'I don't want you to be traumatised. I'll Stun you before I do anything.'

Lily was still spluttering. Everything was moving too quickly. About an hour ago she had thought she would certainly be losing her leg. Now there was a chance to save it.

'Couldn't Madame Pomfrey do this? I mean, couldn't she have done this when I first got my injury? Why didn't you identify the curse straight away?'

'I was still writing my dissertation at the time. This information is very new – well, at least newly available.' he explained, unfazed by her evident stress. 'Just lie back. It'll be over before you know it.'

'Oh, God.' Lily said, lying down and scrunching up her eyes. 'Tell me when it's over.'

'_Stupefy_.'

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**I'm currently dying from a cold so make my day and leave a review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: We made it to 21 followers! Yay! I feel so proud! You join us for some more fun shenanigans with Lily. Are you excited?**

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Chapter Fourteen

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Lily vomited spectacularly into the toilet bowl, grasping its sides and gagging. Her leg was successfully healed but there were likely still traces of the curse floating about her system. Thus, Exon and Madame Pomfrey had teamed together and persuaded her to take a mouthful of potion once a day for a week that would cleanse her. They had called it purging, she called it torture. Despite being doomed, she could have done without the bidaily trips to the toilet to regurgitate her insides. And it was only her first day on the accursed potion.

Wiping her mouth, Lily got up off the floor and flushed the toilet. She unlocked the cubicle and went over to one of the sinks, washing her hands and mouth with cold water.

'Jesus Christ.' she groaned, leaning her forehead against the mirror. 'This is awful.'

But it was only for a week, she told herself. She could cope with a week of vomiting.

'God forbid I get pregnant.' Lily decided, swinging her schoolbag over her shoulder and making her way to the door of the girls' toilets. 'Morning sickness must be a bitch.'

Then she chuckled to herself, using her shoulder to open the bathroom door into the busy corridor of students. She lingered by the door for a moment, waiting for a gap so she could safely step into the corridor.

'Anyway, I'd have to find someone to shag me first.'

'What's that about you shagging?' a delighted voice inquired, plucking her by the arm and steering her helpfully out into the corridor. Sirius winked at her and she laughed lightly as they started to walk together. 'You can shag me any time you want, Evans. You just have to ask, you know that.'

'Aren't I lucky?' Lily responded dryly, but then she grinned at him.

'Evans, one night with me and your life would change forever.' he informed her smugly.

'Is that why you're still single?' Lily quipped, giggling at his look of outrage. 'Too many girls regretting having anything to do with you?'

'You're actually really mean, Evans.' Sirius told her seriously. 'I don't know what Jamesie sees in you.'

'Everyone loves a nickname.' Lily patted his shoulder condescendingly. 'Potter _loves_ his.'

'I've got plenty of nicknames for him!' Sirius mock indignance was rather amusing and Lily chuckled. 'Jamsie, diddy kins –'

'_Very nice_.' Lily nodded solemnly. 'I can see why he wants to be friends with you.'

Sirius sighed dramatically, clutching at Lily's hand and bringing it close to his heart.

'We're just jealous of one another.' he declared theatrically. 'But there's no reason! We'll run away together and forget all about a wizard called James Potter.'

'An excellent plan.' Lily agreed.

'Well, I did say I'd change your life forever.'

'We haven't fucked yet.' Lily pointed out and Sirius grinned.

'Not yet, Evans.' He winked. 'You'll fall for my charm eventually.'

'Save that for Marlie, would you?' Lily scolded, shoving him lightly as they walked. 'I don't think I can resist you much longer.'

'You're right, Evans.' Sirius grinned. 'Oh, Marlie, Marlie, Marlie… Isn't she wonderful?'

Lily got the sense that Marlene had actually been the topic of discussion Sirius had hoped to breach with her. She smirked to herself.

'Spit it out, Black.' Lily said, glancing sideways at him. 'What do you want?'

'I was just wondering – since your Marlie's best friend in the whole wide world –'

Lily smirked wider.

'Go on,'

'Does she – will she ever speak to me? I can't tell if she doesn't want to or if she's shy, but she never says anything. She doesn't really react to anything I say most of the time either.'

'She'll speak when she wants to speak.' Lily replied softly.

'That's really helpful, Evans.'

'I'm sorry.' Lily said and she meant it too. The situation with Marlene was a very complicated one. 'I don't think I can give you an answer. She barely says anything to me either. I don't know what to tell you.'

'Right.'

'Listen, Black.' Lily stopped walking and reached out, holding onto Sirius arm. 'I know you're not as bad as I made you out to be for the last five years but if you're only interested in a challenge and a quick shag, leave Marlie alone. I don't want Marlie to start feeling comfortable around you and build up the courage to say something to you, just for you to leave her once she shags you.'

'What makes you think I'm not serious – it's my name after all?' Sirius grinned at her.

'That right there.' She folded her arms. 'I'm being serious and you're not.'

'I am!'

'Black, I've never even seen the two of you together. Ever. Why should I help you?'

'Can't a bloke admire from a distance?' Sirius reasoned, shrugging. Lily glared and he seemed to shrink slightly. 'Well – well, she's intimidating, Evans. Give me a break! I can't tell if she hates me – she never smiles or anything.'

'Oh, I'm so sorry.' Lily sneered. 'Sorry it's difficult for you. It must be horrible fancying a girl who won't smile at you.'

'I should've known you'd be no help.' Sirius grumbled, slipping his hands into his pockets.

'Yes, you probably should have.' Lily said mildly. Noting how dejected the boy beside her appeared, she sighed, giving in slightly. 'A word of advice: Marlie won't warm up to someone who '_admires_' her during lessons and randomly pops up out of the blue just to say hello – even if she fancies them.'

'She fancies me?'

'Can't a girl admire from a distance?' Lily threw back, smirking. 'Besides, she went and watched one of your Quidditch practices.'

'_Once_.' he reminded her dully. 'And she never came back again.'

Lily didn't quite have the heart to tell him she was the one who had persuaded Marlene to go and watch the practice in the first place; it wasn't in Marlene's nature to make such a direct move without any prompting.

'Hang in there, Black.' she said bracingly, thumping his back. 'Patience is your friend. Why don't you join us studying sometime? I'll be chaperoning but otherwise it might be a good place to start.'

'Really?'

'Just bring Potter with you. I know you hate studying and I'd hate for us to be thrown out of the library when you get bored.'

…

Lily's friends were starting to exclude Mary. At first things were subtle. Lily had joined the group late in Transfiguration, having been regurgitating her insides in the toilet, and taken the seat beside Mary, who had been left alone. Lily attributed this to Mary being the second last to arrive so that the others were already sat down and let this slide. But then the next day, when Mary came down to breakfast and sat with them, Dorcas had pointedly moved furthered down the table. Emmeline, Hestia and Marlene followed her, leaving Lily bewildered and Mary upset.

'She's told them,' she had whispered and then started sobbing into her breakfast.

Lily hadn't quite known what to do with herself at that point and settled for patting her on the back, trying to ignore the beckoning of her other friends.

Not knowing why her friends had decided to freeze out Mary, Lily continued to act as if there was nothing wrong and made sure Mary was never alone. She was more concerned with the fact she had to vomit out the remnants of a curse and wasn't particularly enthused at the idea of investigating what was at the root of the problem with her friends. Something told her things could get nasty and when it came to such matters, Lily was content to let them stay beneath the surface and not address them, waiting for them to blow over. Of course, she had done that with Severus, and things had ended horribly, but this was different. Probably.

Her resolve to stay out of the conflict didn't last very long. Not because she changed her mind but because Dorcas grabbed as she came out of another regurgitating session and pulled her into the nearest empty classroom.

'You need to stay away from Mary.' Dorcas told her abruptly as soon as she had shut the door behind them. 'I don't get why you're still hanging around with her.'

'Because she hasn't done anything.' Lily replied, a little exasperated laugh escaping her lips. 'I don't understand why you lot are avoiding her.'

'What d'you mean _you don't understand_?' Dorcas shook Lily slightly, much to her friend's surprise. 'Lily, I thought you of all people would hate her. You should hate her.'

'So, I'm supposed to hate her now too? Isn't avoiding her bad enough?' Lily scoffed. 'I thought you were her best friend Dorcas. Why would you –'

'Don't tell me you don't know.' Now Dorcas was the one who sounded disbelieving. 'Well, makes sense, I s'pose…' she decided after a moment's pause. 'She wouldn't tell you. But I thought Hestia or Emmeline would've. I mean, they made it sound like they had…'

'Told me what?' Lily was impatient now. If Dorcas kept dancing about what Mary had apparently done any longer, she thought she might tear her hair out.

'She's a Death Eater.'

'What?' Lily laughed in Dorcas' grim face. 'Mary, a Death Eater? Don't be thick! Her mum's half blood – her gran's Muggle-born for Christ's sake – she loves her. She wouldn't join the Death Eaters.'

'_I'm not being thick_.' said Dorcas through gritted teeth, the fact that Lily wasn't taking her seriously irritating her immensely. '_I saw her_. I saw her hug this Death Eater at the protest and they helped her get out all right.'

'How do you know they were a Death Eater? They could have just had black robes.'

''Cos that dickhead sent a jinx at me about two minutes beforehand. Why would he if he was on our side?' Dorcas retorted and Lily blinked.

'And you're sure that it was the same person?'

Dorcas bowed her head and Lily felt her heart start to sink. She didn't want to believe it, but part of her was convinced. This reminded her of times when she had still been friends with Severus, hearing things down the school grapevine of what he and her friends had done.

'She's using you, Lily. Trust me. Soon as Mulciber waves at her she'll throw you away. Just like Snivellus.'

At the specific mention of Severus, Lily's stomach lurched. She didn't think she could cope with two of her friends abandoning her in such a fashion. Dorcas certainly knew how to plant doubts in her head. Suddenly, the classroom was suffocating to stand in. She needed to get out, away, and fast; she needed time to think. Time alone.

'I – er…' Lily opened the classroom door. 'Thanks for telling me…'

'Hey, I'm just looking out for my mate.'

…

'Hey, Evans! Evans!'

Lily started at the sound of James calling after her as she made her way to dinner. She had been absorbed in her own thoughts, which were occupied with the topic of Mary. Despite Dorcas, her friend, telling her she was a Death Eater, Lily hadn't made up her mind. Dorcas had no reason to lie to her; Lily trusted she was telling the truth about what she had seen. At least as to what she thought she had seen.

Lily had watched Mary today and avoided sitting with anyone until she had made up her mind. She didn't know quite honestly when that would be, but she hoped it would be soon. The strange looks she had been getting from all her friends, Mary included, when she had chosen to sit with neither side of the split where ones she didn't want to have to see often. She was confused, but she was also scared that she had made the same mistake in befriending Mary as she had Severus. She wasn't sure if she could cope with a reprisal of the latter.

'Evans! Earth to Evans?' James was waving a hand in her face, grinning at how distracted she was.

'Sorry.' she muttered, blushing a little in embarrassment. 'I was just thinking…'

'I could see that.' James grinned, looping an arm around her. 'But you might want to get it checked out. Thinking's a serious disease.'

'I'll bear that in mind.' she told him dryly. 'So, how are you, Mrs Evans? I feel like I haven't spoken to you in ages.'

'Been counting the days, eh, Evans?' James winked. 'Miss me, did you?'

'How ever did you guess? My Christmas was plagued with thoughts of you.'

'You've got no idea how happy that makes me.' he informed her, and she chuckled.

'Why? Was your Christmas plagued with thoughts of me, because if that's true, I thought you said you didn't fancy me.'

'Wouldn't you like to know.' He pinched her cheek and she hit him lightly on the back of the head in response.

'We'll have less of that manhandling, Mrs Evans.' Lily scolded jocosely, and grinned when he laughed.

'So, d'you have a good Christmas?' he asked conversationally, and Lily felt a slight squirm in her stomach as she thought of her holidays. No, she wasn't going to share that.

'Well, my Christmas was all right, but I'm offended you haven't noticed what's different about me.'

James' eyes narrowed, scanning her hastily to try and discern what had changed about her. With his arm still around her, Lily could feel how his heart rate had picked up suddenly and she smirked to herself. He was surprisingly nervous.

'Is that a trick question?' he tried feebly but held up a hand as she opened her mouth to reply. 'No, I don't need a hint… I'll get there…'

Lily scoffed.

'If you haven't noticed by now –'

'Hey, hey! Who says I haven't noticed?' James plucked at a strand of her hair. 'Have you had a haircut?'

'My leg's all better!' she exclaimed, laughing at his guess and dancing out from under his arm to so that she could skip in front of him. 'Look! No bandage or anything!'

'What? Really?' James looked stunned and then frowned, realising there was not outline of a bandage bulging beneath her tights. 'But you fainted – I thought –'

'Madame Pomfrey took me to St Mungo's and one of the Healers had been doing some research into old curses and, well, he cured me.' Lily grinned happily at him. 'Isn't it brilliant?'

'Just like that?'

'Just like that.' She nodded, beaming. Encouraged by her obvious euphoria, a smile twitched its way across James' lips.

'Congratulations.' he said as they reached the Great Hall. She laughed gaily in response.

'I'll see you later.' she told him, waving a little as he went to sit with the rest of the Marauders. He grinned back and she continued down the table, searching for an empty space away from any of her friends.

But her resolve faltered as Mary smiled a hopeful little smile at her as she sat all by herself, feeling the glares of Dorcas and the others floating down the table. It broke Lily's heart to see it. Of their own accord, Lily feet directed themselves towards her lonely friend; a few paces from her, however, she stopped. She couldn't do this again. She couldn't drag herself hopefully along, praying that Mary didn't turn out to be a Death Eater. No, Lily would have to be alone, until she had investigated this in full.

She turned, and took a seat a little along the table, trying to ignore the crestfallen expression on Mary's face and the approving smirk from Dorcas.

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**Don't you just love drama? I know I do. Leave a review and make my day!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Welcome back! I'm looking forward to this chapter. It's got Hagrid in it and I feel like we haven't seen him in aaages. So here he is...**

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Chapter Fifteen

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Lily found herself walking down to Hagrid's on Saturday morning, a stack of toast in hand; the Hogwarts Gamekeeper was not famed for his culinary skills. The morning air was pleasantly fresh on her face and she smiled softly as she wandered through a patch of sunlight. She like the grounds like this. Silent and still, no students disturbing the calm, just her and nature. Even the Forbidden Forest looked inviting as the early morning sun streamed through the gaps in the leaves.

She let out a contented sigh. Absently, she started to munch on a piece of toast, watching the smoke rising out of Hagrid's chimney as she neared his hut. His home was always such a comforting sight to her. Sometimes she felt guilty for that; Lily knew she saw herself closer with Hagrid than her own parents. He just understood her without her having to explain herself; they lived in the same world, something that could not be said about Lily and her parents.

Knocking on the cabin door, Lily waited for Hagrid to answer. The door opened and he beamed down at her.

'Lily!' he greeted, stepping a little to the side so that she could enter. 'I've jus' put the kettle on. It'll be done in a mo'.'

'Sounds great.' Lily smiled and went to set the scrubbed wooden while Hagrid returned to the kettle. 'I see you liked the table cloth I got you.' she joked as she opened the cabinet to fetch two mugs. The table cloth she had gifted him for Christmas was folded away at the back of the shelf.

''Course I did.' he replied gruffly, and she grinned. 'I'm jus' savin' it fer special occasions is all. Don' really deserve me peelin' potatoes or sommat on it.'

'I suppose I should be flattered.' Lily mused, laughing as she set down two mugs. Hagrid shook his head, muttering to himself, making her laugh louder.

He poured the boiling water into a teapot, dropped to teabags into it and brought it over to the table. Taking a seat opposite her, Hagrid observed Lily serve them both helpings of tea. She was still smiling slightly, but he knew better than to take her a face value. Usually, when Lily visited him, she had something on her mind.

'You all righ', Lily?' Hagrid pried, accepting the mug of tea she presented him. 'Not too stressed abou' school, are yeh? I know them lot give yeh a lottta work.' he gestured vaguely in the direction of the castle, just visible out of his cabin window.

'You know,' Lily mused thoughtfully, a small, almost bitter, laugh bubbling from her. 'I think this is the first year where the most stressful thing in my life isn't school. Honestly, I almost miss last year.'

'Nah,' Hagrid leaned back in his chair, his beetle black eyes crinkling with benign amusement. 'Yeh wait till next year. Don' know how those seventh years do it meself.'

'Who knows?' Lily grimaced down at her mug. 'I think things outside school will get even worse.'

'I s'pose.' Hagrid nodded wisely. 'No point worryin' abou' it. Yeh can't predict the future. If somethin' 's s'posed ter happen, it'll happen.'

'Yeah…' She took a sip of tea, swallowing it before looking up at Hagrid. 'Is it wrong to be scared – now, I mean? We're just at the start…'

'No one's sayin' yeh've gotta be a Gryffindor all the time.' he told her kindly, reaching out a massive hand to rest it on her comparatively miniscule one. 'Yer human, Lily – sorta wouldn' be if you was never scared.'

Lily was silent for a moment. Her lip was trembling. Here with Hagrid she felt safe, she felt like she could show weakness. He had known her since she was a timid first year, getting lost in the grounds and found crying on his doorstep because she was so overwhelmed. At home, she had to make her time with her parents count so she didn't want to weigh that time down with them. With her friends, she didn't know why, but there was a limit to how much she shared with them. Some things were better left bottled inside.

'I met Greyback over Christmas.' she whispered and then, as if that sentence had been a flood barrier before leaving her mouth, the tears came pouring out of her eyes. She brought her hands to her face and started sobbing, her shoulders shaking violently.

There was the screeching of Hagrid's chair as he went to go and comfort her. His massive form proved awkward for a hug, but Lily appreciated it nonetheless, clinging to him as she cried.

'I – I was so scared…' she confessed shakily, a damp patch growing on Hagrid's clothes. He squeezed her a little and though this crushed her slightly, Lily didn't care. The comfort of his presence was all she needed. 'I keep having nightmares… He won't leave me alone… I don't know why this time is so bad – it wasn't with Bellatrix.'

'It'll get better.' Hagrid told her kindly as her tears lessened a little. 'Righ' now that sounds a load o' codswallop but I promise yeh, it'll get better. Tha's all I can tell yeh. Yer strong, Lily. Yeh'll get through it, hard as it sounds. An' yer leg's better an' all! Tha's a start!'

'You promise?' Lily asked quietly, pulling a little away to look up at Hagrid, who was watching her with sad eyes.

'I promise.' He nodded slowly, smiling and letting go. Returning to his seat, he gestured that Lily drink some of her tea. She obliged, sniffing slightly.

'Sorry…' she murmured. 'I'm just a bit stressed at the moment.'

'Abou' Greyback?'

'That and some drama with my friends.' Lily sighed, drumming her fingers on the side of her mug. 'Dorcas says Mary's a Death Eater.'

Hagrid spat out the tea he had been about to swallow.

'Mary? As in your friend Mary? That lass that Mulciber tried ter do in a few years back?'

'Yes, that Mary.' Lily could almost smile at his reaction. 'Dorcas says she saw her hugging this other Death Eater at the protest and then – apparently – they helped her get to safety. And, well, Dorcas wouldn't lie but I can't believe that – I don't want to believe – that Mary would join. It doesn't make sense…'

'Don' have ter make sense.' Hagrid said darkly. 'Goin' ter the dark side don' have ter make sense. Them on the dark side, there's nothin' matters to 'em. They want power – a bit o' You–Know–Who's power. Some of 'em go mad with it – look at that nutter Bellatrix Lestrange! Mind, she was always a bit strange.'

'Yes, but, Mary's not like that. I've known her since first year. She's never…'

'Could've bin hidin' it. She'll've wanted mates. Being mates with yeh would've kept her safe – McGonagall wouldn' look fer a Death Eater in Lily Evans' group o' mates – an' Dumbledore neither.' Hagrid said that almost proudly and Lily cracked a smile as his beetle eyes watched her fondly. 'Yer the last person anyone'd think o' in with all that stuff. She's safe bein' mates with yeh.'

'So, you think Dorcas is right – that Mary's a Death Eater?'

'I'm sayin' if she's with You–Know–Who's lot, yeh shouldn' be surprised. Yeh don' need ter look like a Death Eater ter be one.' he elaborated, scanning her face. 'Not all of 'em look like Bellatrix Lestrange.'

'You're right.' Lily nodded slowly. 'Anyone could turn out to be a Death Eater.'

Her stomach lurched suddenly at that, as she thought of Professor Acranum's words.

_You are doomed. You will die, betrayed by one you call a friend, defenceless against the one who wields the knife._

Was she fated to this scenario again and again? Would she spend the rest of her life wondering, waiting for another of her friends to betray her? Had Severus only been the start of a long, painful chain? Was she to lose Mary, then Dorcas, then Emmeline, then Hestia and finally Marlene? Except that, if Acranum was correct, one of them she would trust until the end, until they eventually murdered her.

'Lily?' Hagrid's voice cut through her rather panicked thoughts. Without realising it, she had started crying again. 'Yeh need ter talk ter Mary. Yeh won' find out nothin' jus' talkin' ter me. I wasn' there. I did'n' see nothin'.'

'But what if she lies to me?'

'Then, I reckon yeh'll know.' He smiled kindly at her. 'If sommat doesn' sound righ', it's not righ'.'

Yes, Hagrid was right. She had to talk to Mary; she had to talk to her alone, away from their other friends' glares. Only once she had heard Mary's version of events could she sort fact from fiction. There were two sides to every story after all. Lily only that that of Dorcas.

'Thank you, Hagrid.' Lily said quietly, smiling a little at him. He shrugged, smiling back, taking another sip of tea.

…

Now that she was actively seeking out Mary, her friend seemed impossible to find. After returning from Hagrid's, Lily had searched the Great Hall, their dormitory, the Library and now she was opening random classroom doors, hoping Mary might just be inside one of them. By some lucky coincidence, perhaps imparted by the great wizard Merlin, she was sat on one of the desks in Professor Flitwick's classroom.

'Mary!' Lily cried, almost singing her delight at finally finding her. In all honesty, she had missed lunch for her search and was now very hungry. 'I've been looking for you!'

'Oh – er – hello…' Mary was watching her with wide eyes. Her surprise was quite understandable; Lily had been avoiding her for the past few days after all, she had been avoiding all of her friends. 'I thought you weren't talking to me.'

'I – yes – about that…' Lily fumbled her words, unsure of exactly what she wanted to say now that she was actually here, speaking to Mary. 'I…'

'Not sure what to say to a Death Eater?' she sneered almost defensively. Her fists curled, but she remained sat on the desk, her eyes daring Lily to speak. 'Bet you couldn't wait to agree with Dorcas. Another one of your friends turns out to be a complete prick. Wonderful.'

'Mary, I –'

'Be honest, Lily,' Mary interrupted, her glower faltering as her eyes started to water. 'Was I that shitty a friend that the second Dorcas said anything bad about me you believed it? I know we're not best friends Lily, but we're friends – or at least we were – for over five years.'

'I'm sorry.' Lily mumbled, bowing her head. She couldn't stand to watch Mary cry tears partially caused by her ignoring her for the last few days. Even if Mary really was guilty.

'Oh, thanks.' Through her tears, Mary sent a very false smile that seemed to stab through Lily.

'It's just… I suppose it was… Why would Dorcas lie to me?'

'Who said she did lie?' Mary retorted. 'I'm not saying I didn't hug that Death Eater.'

'So what Dorcas saw is true?' Lily tested, tentatively taking a seat on the opposite desk to Mary, whose crying had suddenly intensified.

'… Yes.' she choked out, any previous mocking bravado gone. 'I – I… You have to understand, Lily, when I saw him, I didn't think – I didn't realise – that he was one of them. I was just so glad to see him. I was scared. I didn't know where any of you were. I was glad to see someone I knew.'

'And who were they?' Lily pressed, leaning forwards. This was what she needed to know. This was the part of the story that would tell her if Mary was innocent or not. If she could tell if her friend was lying. She shifted her sitting position slightly. Hagrid seemed to think she would be able to, and Lily trusted his judgement.

'My – my brother.' Mary whispered, her body seemingly shuddering at her own confession.

'Your brother?' Lily repeated, and Mary nodded.

'But you can't tell anyone! Not even Dorcas!' Mary's eyes widened imploringly, latching onto Lily's hands. 'Promise me, Lily. Merlin, if anyone found out – if my parents found out – he'd be arrested. He's my brother…'

'He's also a Death Eater.' Lily pointed out, trying to keep her voice mild as she glanced down at how tightly Mary was now clutching her hands. Lily was starting to lose feeling in her fingers. 'He kills people.'

'I know,' Mary was crying again, 'but what am I supposed to do? He's _family_. And my parents! If they found out their own son's gone and joined You–Know–Who. My mum's in a wheelchair because of Death Eaters, my gran's Muggle-born, and _what about my dad_? He's on the Wizengamot! He's dedicated his life to putting bad wizards behind bars, and then his son ends up being one of them. It'd be like if Barty Crouch's son turned out to be a Death Eater!'

Lily watched her. She didn't know Mary's brother very well. Liam MacDonald was five years her elder and had been a very quiet, studious Ravenclaw; he had kept himself to himself, never really having much to say to anyone, anyone except Mary. The two siblings were very close. But then Liam had been caught with a beaten up Muggle-born third year. Everyone had said Liam had simply come across them, then intending to bring them to the hospital wing, and moved on, but something had changed between the two siblings. Perhaps Mary had known something no one else did. At least, Lily had suspected that at the time.

Now, it seemed, whatever had really occurred was exactly what it had appeared at first. If Mary was telling the truth, and Liam was a Death Eater, then that previous incident looked a whole deal more suspicious on his account.

Mary had stopped crying. She was now watching Lily, a kind of wild desperation in her eyes. Lily bit her lip, mulling over everything.

'I believe you.' she murmured at long last.

'Thank you.'

* * *

**Yay! Lily and Mary are friends again!**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought and have a great day!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Welcome back! **

**Thank you Paia1240 for your lovely review! I'm glad you like the characters!**

**Anyway, on with the story. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

* * *

Since Mary refused to tell anyone but Lily the real reason Dorcas had seen her hugging a Death Eater, the dynamic of their friendship group changed very little, though Dorcas was now very frustrated with Lily, who in her opinion had blatantly decided to ignore her warning and remained friends with someone she believed to be a Death Eater. Marlene sat with Mary and Lily sometimes, the fact that Lily had returned to being friends with Mary warming her to the idea of doing the same. Lily wasn't quite sure if Marlene had truly believed Dorcas, but she generally took the side of the majority since she herself barely spoke.

Now, the three girls were sat in the library doing Professor McGonagall's latest essay. At least, Marlene and Mary were, Lily was attempting to. There was something about Transfiguration theory that left her brain a useless lump.

'Careful,' a voice said into her ear, making her start in shock. 'When the wind blows, your face'll stick like that.'

'Very funny.' Lily retorted, turning in her seat to face a smirking James Potter. Sirius stood beside him, sniggering at her scowl. She ignored him. 'Well, are you going to make fun of me all day or help me?'

'Hmm.' James mimed thinking for a moment. 'Now that's a tough question, Evans.'

'A very tough question.' Sirius agreed and Lily glared at him.

'Shut up and sit down.' she told him, pointing at the free seat beside Marlene, who had looked up from her own essay to observe the newcomers blankly. Sirius winked at Lily, who shrugged, and then directed his attention at Marlene, bowing at her before sitting down.

'And what about me?'

'I'm afraid we don't like people with glasses.' Lily told him mildly. 'You'll have to sit somewhere else.'

'Very funny.' James mocked, sweepingly taken the seat beside her. Mary, who was sat at the end of the table, had her eyes moving from Marlene to Lily as if at a tennis rally.

Lily slid her essay at him, daring him not to help her. He chuckled, starting to read Lily's attempt.

'So, Evans,' Sirius observed from beside Marlene, 'not done anything about that hair yet? It might be a rash, you never know…'

'I'll bear that in mind.' she said dryly, drumming her fingers on the table. 'What about yours? Found a lawnmower strong enough to cut it all off?'

Marlene let out a snort, a snort she quickly stifled with her hand.

'A lawnmower?' Mary asked, confused. Her expression was shared by Sirius, and even James was frowning, though that may have been due to a poorly explained part of Lily's essay.

'Honestly,' Lily sighed, shaking her head. 'My humour is wasted on you purebloods. Thank God Marlie's here or I would have had no laughs at all.'

'Hey, I'm almost not pureblood. My mum's Half-blood.'

'Still don't know what a lawnmower is, do you, Mary?' Lily leaned back in her chair as Mary stuck out her tongue at her.

'_What is a lawnmower_?' Sirius asked.

'Oh, shut up.' Mary threw a scrunched-up bit of parchment at him. Both Lily and Marlene snickered.

'It's just intellectual curiosity. Don't be so mean, MacDonald.' Sirius stretched lazily. 'Just because you couldn't even dream of my grades.'

'What grades?' Mary replied, laughing. 'I think I'm failing all my subjects.'

'Sure you are, Mary.' Lily agreed, rolling her eyes. 'I must have imagined the O you got in Herbology last week.'

'Yeah, but how difficult is that really?' Sirius waved off Lily's comment, smirking. 'All you have to do is throw some dirt at a plant.'

'Then I won't save you from a Snargaluff's vines next time.' James piped up, sliding Lily back her essay.

'You're a traitor, Prongs.'

'Hey, Evans,' James began, ignoring Sirius. 'Your essay's all right but you need to explain this bit better. What you said doesn't really make sense. Non-verbal spells are weaker – that's true – but you need to say why, not just because you're not saying them. Does that make sense?'

'Er – yes…' Lily nodded slowly.

James laughed.

'I'm here if you need any help.'

'Thanks.'

'I need help too, Jamsie!' Sirius cried, batting his eyelashes. '_Pleeease_!'

'Oh, piss off.'

…

There was an attack on Edinburgh a few days later, in the middle of the day, so that the first that anyone heard of it was when Professor McGonagall appeared in their final lesson of the day, Potions, asking for Fiona McGregor. She had returned two minutes later to collect her things, sobbing, and it soon spread across the classroom that her parents and two-year-old twin sisters had been killed in an attack on their home town. Mr and Mrs McGregor had been prominent members of the Wizarding community; Mrs McGregor had been Millicent Bagnold's Undersecretary and her husband a high-up employee of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

'Poor Fiona.' Mary murmured in Lily's ear as the door swung shut behind Fiona's crying form. 'Merlin, that's horrific…'

'We've shared a dormitory for years, but I don't think I've said more than two words to her.' Lily confessed, stirring the potion in her cauldron as it started to boil.

'She's nice enough.' Mary haphazardly threw some ingredients into her own cauldron and then looked at Marlene. 'Do you know her, Marlie?'

Marlene shook her head.

'Even Marlie doesn't know her.' Mary bit her lip. 'Has she got any friends? I don't think any of the others speak to her either.'

'She hangs out with the Ravenclaws mainly – I think Alice knows her quite well.' Lily said, glancing at the instructions of her potions. 'But she's on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, isn't she?'

'Is she?'

'I think so… Maybe Seeker?' Lily turned to Marlene. 'Marlie, is Fiona Gryffindor's Seeker?'

Marlene nodded.

'Shows how much attention I pay to Quidditch.' Mary mumbled, and Lily chuckled slightly.

'Well, you should start paying a bit more attention in future.' she advised, smirking widely. Even Marlene looked a little smug, sensing where Lily was headed.

'And why's that?'

'Because Ravenclaw's Captain keeps looking your way.'

'No, he doesn't!' Mary replied indignantly, slapping Lily's arm. She laughed.

'Yes, he does.' she sang smugly. 'And he's going to look again in three… two… one!'

Ollie Harris was indeed glancing over his shoulder at Mary and grinned when she caught him at it. She flushed a bright red and hastily busied herself with her potion.

'Ten Galleons he'll ask you to Hogsmeade after class.' Lily whispered in Mary's direction.

'Marlie, pass me your scales, will you?' Mary said, ignoring Lily's jibe. Lily just laughed.

…

Ollie Harris did ask Mary to Hogsmeade and, after Dorcas glared at her as she entered the Great Hall, felt inspired to accept. Not wanting to have a part in their conversation, Lily and Marlene had lagged a little behind; witnessing someone be asked to Hogsmeade could be sweet on occasion but generally it was uncomfortable for anyone not being asked. Acting as a third-wheel was never fun.

'So, any plans for Valentine's Day?' Lily asked Marlene, nudging her lightly. She grinned as she felt Marlene's glower upon her. 'What? I wasn't even going to bring up Black's name – oh… Whoops.'

Marlene did not appreciate Lily's tomfoolery, scowling deeper. Sensing her friend would not change her mood, Lily relented.

'Sorry, Marlie.' Lily linked arms with her friend. 'Looks like you're stuck with me in Hogsmeade. We'll be single together. No boys, no drama I always say. I –' she broke off as Marlene thrust a scrunched-up bit of parchment into her hand.

Straightening the parchment, Lily realised it was a letter. Her eyes flicked down to the bottom to see who the sender was.

'Ah, Roland, my favourite human being…' she muttered under her breath, scanning the letter quickly. He had asked to meet Marlene in The Three Broomsticks on her next Hogsmeade weekend, which, incidentally, fell on Valentine's Day.

Lily handed the letter back and searched Marlene's face carefully.

'I'll go with you if that's what you're asking.' Lily smiled. 'I promised at Christmas, and I meant it.'

Marlene watched her silently. Her face was blank. Sometimes, Lily really did wish her friend spoke more often. She couldn't read her at all.

'Have you thought of what you're going to say to him?' Lily tried tentatively. 'Or some questions you want him to answer – I'll ask them for you if you want…'

Marlene bowed her head.

'Any time, Marlie.'

…

She was sat in the common room when she felt a jolt of pain rush up her right-hand side. The source, she realised, her stomach lurching, seeming to be her right leg where her injury had once been. Rubbing it, the pain subsided but her heart rate increased nervously. Her leg was healed, so why had it hurt again? And so violently at that. Glancing worriedly down at her leg, she saw it was shaking of its own accord. Lily bit her lip.

She was distracted, however, by the sight of the Gryffindor team trampling into the common room. All of them looked very muddy and windswept, the February weather plainly having made its mark. Dorcas collapsed into one of the armchairs by the fire, shooting a disgusted look at Mary, who was sat with Lily and Marlene, before pulling a copy of the _Evening Prophet_ towards her and disappearing behind it.

'All right, you lot?' James greeted cheerfully, though his face was tired.

'How was practice?' Lily asked, smiling at him.

'Shit.' Sirius answered for him, appearing behind him with Remus and Peter. 'If it rains like this for our match we'll all be blown off.'

'Well, your next match is practically years away.' Lily dismissed. 'If it's like this tomorrow, Valentine's Day will be ruined.'

'Of course that's what _you_ care about.' Sirius retorted and she laughed.

'I'm thinking of Mary. She's got a date tomorrow.'

'_Oooh_, Miss MacDonald's got herself a date.' Sirius winked at Mary, who raised an eyebrow. 'Looks like you're out the running, Pete.'

'Shut up, Sirius!' everyone but Sirius said, and they all laughed.

'I'm being bullied!' he wailed, collapsing onto Marlene's lap. 'Comfort me, Marlie!'

Marlene just appeared bemused, glancing at Sirius as if surprised to see him there. Lily giggled. Taking a seat beside Lily, Remus sent her an apologetic smile.

'Sorry about Sirius.' he murmured to her as they watched Sirius wriggle about in Marlene's lap, much to everyone else's amusement. 'Peter and I were watching their practice. This is just pent up frustration. I don't think anyone flew more than five feet.'

'A frustrated Sirius Black,' Lily said, smirking, 'certainly never seen one of those before.'

The two grinned at each other.

'You should join us in Hogsmeade.' Lily told Remus conversationally. 'Marlie and I are meeting someone for lunch but apart from that we should walk around together. Bring the boys too. I'm sure Black won't pass up the opportunity to be with Marlie.'

'No, he wouldn't…' Remus agreed quietly, not looking at her. She frowned slightly.

'He's a strange one.' Lily mused, shaking her head at the sight of Sirius flicking Marlene's nose. Marlene barely even blinked in response, making James laugh loudly at the reception to Sirius' action. 'Are you all right, Remus?'

'Oh, yes.' He seemed to shake himself slightly. 'I'm fine.'

'If you say so.' Lily lowered her voice. 'When's the next full moon?'

'I said I'm fine, Lily. You don't need to fuss.'

Remus sighed and got to his feet, muttering that he was going to bed. Lily watched him go, concern etched on her face. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that reaction. While she was not as close with Remus as the rest of the Marauders were with him, she liked to think he trusted her enough to confide in her. Not that he was obliged to; she was just worried about him.

'Okay, Evans?' James asked, dropping down into the seat Remus had vacated.

'_I'm _fine.' Lily was still frowning. 'Is something wrong with Remus?'

'So you've noticed it too.' James leaned towards her. 'He's been really distant with us all day – for a while actually – no idea why.'

'Black hasn't done anything has he?'

'Probably.' James shrugged unconcernedly. 'But I doubt that's it. I mean, when he told Snivellus where Remus, you know, _transforms_, he was only cross for a bit. By the end of the summer we were all mates again, what with Sirius moving in with me and all. I don't reckon Sirius's done anything bad. Remus can't stay pissed at us too long anyway.'

'You're right…'

'Of course I am, Evans!' James grinned at her. 'I'm offended you'd even doubt me for a second.'

Lily laughed.

'Just because I call you Mrs Evans doesn't mean you share my mum's wisdom.' she replied, nudging him.

'You're actually really rude, Evans.'

'It's all part of my charm.'

She smiled at him for a moment. It struck her that her younger self really hadn't known what she was talking about when she complained about James' personality. He really wasn't a toerag like she had previously thought. He was funny and he was kind. She was glad they got along now.

'Well,' Lily stood up, clapping her hands. 'I'm going to love you and leave you. My bed's calling me.'

'Love you too, Evans!' James called after her.

Lily waved her hand in recognition, trying to ignore the sudden racing of her heart. She wasn't exactly sure why, but her cheeks were burning a bright, very obvious, red.

…

There was smoke everywhere. Smoke and fire. The orange light cast by the flames burned into her eyes as she stood, frozen. Her lungs were filled with thick, black smoke. Her brain was deprived of oxygen. The scene before her was growing blurry.

She heard his laugh from somewhere near her. Her addled, suffocating brain couldn't locate him, but she knew he was there. He was waiting for her, somewhere behind all the smoke.

She wanted to run but her feet wouldn't move. Her body ached, anticipating what was about to happen. Her fate. Her doom.

His filthy claw-like hands found her easily, gripping onto her arms, pulling her to him. Her whole body was paralysed. She could not even bring herself to fight him. Her torture was inevitable, it was best he start sooner rather than later. She wouldn't last long anyone.

'Maybe I'll cook you first.' he crooned in her ear. She choked on her breath, soot still clogging her lungs. 'What d'you think? Grilled Mudblood?'

Lily whimpered. His grip tightened on her arms, the dirt encrusted nails on his hands digging into her flesh.

'Yeah, I like the sound of that too.'

He nibbled at a bit of her ear. Her stomach lurched violently, her back arching to try and move away from him, but he held on easily, letting one of her arms go to taunt her. He ran his free hand along the side of her face, his mouth moving from her opposite ear to her neck.

'You know,' he purred against her skin, licking some of it experimentally before continuing. 'They say blood sucking's just for Vampires, but I think that's a bit selfish. Who are they to deny me the pleasure?'

She was crying now. She knew what was coming. And no one could save her.

* * *

**Yay! It's time to go to Hogsmeade next chapter!**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter. I kind of wanted this chapter to be a bit more chatty. Well, apart from the last scene...**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Aaand welcome back! I'm just going to let you all get straight into the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

* * *

All Lily knew when she woke was that her leg was glowing a bright fluorescent green. The light filled the whole of her fourposter. She had kicked her covers onto the floor in her sleep, so all of her leg was exposed, nothing stopping it from illuminating her surroundings.

'Shit…' she muttered, staring at her leg. It took her a moment to even register that it was throbbing. 'J_e_sus Christ! _Fuck_!'

She slid out of bed and staggered into the bathroom, falling onto the floor as her leg seized up completely. With a great effort she pulled the door shut behind her. It wouldn't do for her to wake up everyone else in her dormitory. Unsure of what else to do, Lily rearranged herself so that she lay on her back and stared upwards.

The candles that usually lit up the bathroom were, of course, unlit at this hour but it wasn't as if she needed them. Her leg acted as a wonderful torch, even if its light was a very eerie colour and her leg ached horribly.

'Jesus Christ…' she repeated, watching the illuminated ceiling, hoping it might provide her with some inspiration.

Hot tears appeared in her eyes. This would make the second time within twenty-four hours that it had caused her pain. She was supposed to be better and yet here she was, lying on the bathroom floor, deprived of sleep, taking deep breaths in the vain hope it might help with the pain. What had she done wrong? Exon, St Mungo's resident curse expert, had cured her. He had! So why was her leg glowing like an alien creation?

'Is a decent night's sleep too much to ask?' she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. But, if she was honest to herself, sleep wasn't a particularly welcoming prospect either. Greyback was waiting for her should she close her eyes for too long. He always knew how to sneak into her dreams.

Her leg throbbed harder and she rolled onto her side, curling into a ball, praying this would end.

…

At breakfast, Lily took refuge behind a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Having had barely any sleep and her leg aching for much of the night, she was not in the best of moods. She was worried. All around her were people basking in the joy of Valentine's day; everyone except Marlene, who was stirring her porridge with a grave expression. Since Marlene was meeting her biological father for the first time, Lily thought her own woes did not compare and thus said nothing about the night's events.

'H_a_ppy Valentine's Day!' James sang into her ear and she jumped, hastily smiling at him.

'Happy Valentine's Day to you too.' she replied, shaking her head at his beaming face. 'I see you're enjoying yourself.'

'Of course I am, Evans! I've had five cards already – I'm here for my sixth.' He winked and she laughed.

'You want one from me?' she asked, raising her eyebrows when he nodded, grinning. 'Sorry, but I don't actually know how to write.'

'_What_?' James pretended to look crestfallen. 'So – so no card for me?' Lily shook her head. 'Evans, you're a cruel woman.'

'Me? Cruel? _Never_.' Lily laughed. 'And all this when I don't see anything for me either. Where's _my_ card?'

'Nothing for you?' James scoffed and, flourishing his wand, conjured a rather wilted bouquet of flowers. Lily grinned at the sight of them. 'Maybe I should stick to Transfiguration…'

'They're lovely.' she said as he made to transfigure them. 'Well, I suppose I'd better give something to you, in the spirit of Valentine's Day.'

Lily considered him. Then, smirking, she leaned forwards and pecked him lightly on the cheek before pulling away. Much to her amusement, a very notable blush made its way onto his face, though she was likely in a similar state. Hastily, she returned her attention to the _Daily Prophet_ and started reading a headline on the second page.

_Fleamont Potter to Retire From Head Auror Post_

James was staring at her, his blush slowly subsiding.

'You're dad's Head of the Auror Office?' Lily asked conversationally, taking in the headline. She was regretting her actions already; what had been intended to be funny had left her very embarrassed. James' gaze wasn't helping the matter. In her endeavour to hide her embarrassment, she thought it better to act as if her kissing his cheek hadn't happened. 'I didn't know that. That's impressive.'

'Er – yeah…' James replied absently, still watching her. 'Has been for twenty years.'

'Wow…' Lily breathed, not reading the article any further and putting down the newspaper. Marlene reached out from her other side and took it. 'So it's really an end of an era. Well, I suppose he'll enjoy the relaxation after a life of chasing bad wizards.'

'I wish.' James scoffed, returning to normal. 'He does a lot of stuff for Dumbledore. I reckon he'll use his retirement as an excuse to do more.'

'What kind of _stuff_?' Lily shifted in her seat, watching him intently.

'No idea.' James scrunched up his nose and began what Lily assumed was supposed to be an impression of his mother. 'It's '_not fit for the ears of an underage wizards,' _apparently.'

'Was that supposed to be your mum?'

'Yes.'

'She does not sound like that!'

'Oh, yeah?' James smirked. 'And how would you know what my mum sounds like? Been meeting up with her in secret have you?'

'I know because no one in the world sounds like that.' she improvised, laughing to sound convincing. 'That sounded like someone squashing a pig.'

'You're a tough crowd, Evans.' James told her, nudging her. 'There's just no pleasing you.'

'I take offence by that. I liked those wilted flowers, didn't I?'

'Yes, but that's because you're strange.'

'And you call me rude.' she accused, elbowing him slightly.

James laughed and she grinned. They returned to their breakfast and ate in a comfortable silence until Sirius bounded out of his seat a little along the table, dragging Remus and Peter with him, declaring it was time to leave for Hogsmeade. He offered his hand to Marlene, who accepted it, her face blank. Lily instinctively glanced at Remus, who was looking at his feet.

'Come on, Mrs Evans.'

…

When they entered the Entrance Hall a few minutes later, they found it empty, save for three people; Dorcas, Mary and Ollie Harris. The sound of their raised voices brought an involuntary groan from Lily's lips. Cautiously, the group approached the arguers.

'Now listen here Meadowes –'

'No, you listen to me, Harris.' Dorcas snarled at Ollie. 'You wanna go on a date with that bitch? Fine, b–'

'Oh, shut up, Dorcas!'

'You shut your face MacDonald, or I'll fucking shut it for you!' Dorcas glowered at the pair of them. 'You should know she's a Death Eater, Harris. She's a fucking Death Eater!'

'Dorcas –'

'No, MacDonald! He's got a fucking right to know if gonna date a Death Eater!'

Ollie had gone a sickly green colour and had stepped a little away from Mary, who's eyes were starting to water. It was then that James, a very baffled James, stepped in.

'Can I just ask, what in the name of Merlin is going on?' he said, staring at Dorcas as though she had gone mad.

'Oh, fuck off, Potter!'

'Don't talk to him like that!' Lily snapped, moving to stand beside James. 'He hasn't done anything!'

'Well, he needs to mind his own business!' Dorcas retorted, rounding on her. 'Y'know, I don't get you, Lily. I thought you'd learned from Snivellus but you're still hanging around scum. She's a Death Eater, Lily! How could you be so fucking stupid!'

'Oy!' James stepped in front of Lily, growling at Dorcas. 'Don't call her stupid!'

'What else am I s'posed to call her? She's a Muggle-born who thinks a Death Eater wants to be her friend.'

'I'M NOT A DEATH EATER!' Mary screamed suddenly and grabbed Ollie's arm. 'Come on, Ollie. Let's go…'

She pulled him away with her and they disappeared into to courtyard outside. Lily watched her go and then turned back to Dorcas.

'Why did you have to say that to her today of all days?' she asked tiredly, gently moving James to the side. 'And in front of everyone! This is between the two of you not the whole school.'

Dorcas scoffed, opening her mouth to reply.

'We're going into Hogsmeade now.' Lily informed her, linking arms with James, getting ready to lead him away. 'Join us when you're ready to see reason Dorcas.'

The rest of the group followed her wordlessly, all of them speechless. Once she was calmed down, Lily knew Dorcas would come and find them; Emmeline and Hestia had detention, so it was only a matter of time before she got bored of wandering around in the castle by herself shouting abuse at suits of armour.

Filch was waiting for them in the courtyard, his Secrecy Sensor at the ready. He scanned each of them in turn, choosing to be a little more violent with his jabs when the Marauders took their turn at being searched. They all passed assessment, however, and soon were on their way down the lane towards the village. No one spoke for a moment. No one until Sirius decided to break the ice.

'So MacDonald's a Death Eater,' he said conversationally to the group at large, a wolfish laugh leaving him. 'I've always had my suspicions. Maybe it's the blonde hair. You can't trust blondes.'

'Looks like we'd better watch out for Pete next.' James joked, ruffling Peter's hair. The boy rolled his eyes.

'Cheers, James.' he said. 'I'm glad we're such good friends.'

'That's right, Pete.' James grinned. 'Friendship's all about trust.'

'Such a wise statement.' Remus said, smirking. 'Where did you learn that?'

'You saying I can't be wise by myself?'

'Of course I am.'

Lily laughed, patting James' cheek condescendingly so that he pretended to pout. Unhooking her arm from his, she made her way over towards Remus.

'Sorry, Mrs Evans. I'm swapping you for wiser company.'

'Mrs Evans?' Sirius said blankly from beside Marlene. Then an evil grin made its way onto his face. '_Did she just call you Mrs Evans_?'

Peter snorted.

'Hey – hey, Mrs Evans –'

'Pads, say that again and I'll kill you.' James warned, pulling out his wand. The effect was slightly ruined by his scarlet cheeks.

'Why? Is it Evans' special nickname for you?' Sirius teased and James narrowed his eyes. 'Is that why, Mrs –'

'PADFOOT!' James pounced on him and the two boys engaged in a mock wrestle of sorts, much to the amusement of everyone else.

'Marlie,' Sirius wheezed as James got him in a headlock. 'You'll call me Mr McKinnon, won't you?'

His question was met with the slightest shake of the head from Marlene. Apart from that, she might never even have heard his question for all the reaction she gave. Remus reacted, however. He let out a rather sharp scoff, distracting Lily from James and Sirius' antics.

'Remus?' Lily murmured tentatively, guiding him a little from the rest of the group, who had come to a standstill to watch the wrestle. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing's wrong.' he replied tersely. Lily blinked at his tone.

'Remus, you can tell me.' she said softly, smiling kindly at him. He shook his head.

'I can't. Not here anyway.'

Lily frowned, confused. Remus glanced over his shoulder and then shook his head again. Her brow creased further, seeing nothing but the others still laughing at James and Sirius wrestling when she followed his gaze.

'Remus…'

'I'll tell you later.' he muttered, turning his head away to stare up ahead. 'It can wait, don't worry.'

Lily bit her lip, but nodded, and soon the whole group was on the move again.

…

They spent an enjoyable morning wandering about the shops, laughing at the Marauders bickering and their farfetched stories. Lily was buoyed by the fact that Marlene was laughing and smiling; she had been quite nervous at breakfast after all. Meeting one's biological father for the first time was no laughing matter and when it was someone a smug as Roland, well…

'It's nearly time.' Lily murmured quietly to Marlene as the group trooped out of Honeyduke's, all heavily laden with confectionary. 'It's just gone twelve.'

Marlene's lips became a thin line and she jerked her head into a nod.

'We'd better go then.' Raising her voice to a more audible level, Lily turned to the others and said, 'Marlie and I are abandoning you for lunch. We'll come find you again later.'

'You're leaving?' Sirius asked, wiping a non-existent tear from his eye.

'We'll be back.' she assured him, rolling her eyes before waving and ushering Marlene away.

The two girls entered The Three Broomsticks, glancing about for any sign of Roland. It occurred to Lily, that she had no idea what he looked like, so her searching was fruitless. She supposed Marlene knew and thus decided to wait for her friend to find him. Her own eyes turned towards the bar while she waited, spotting Rosemerta handing a pint of what looked like Oak Matured mead to a man drumming his fingers on the counter. It wasn't until the man glimpsed over his shoulder at the door that her eyes widened comically.

If Marlene had been a man in his late fifties, she would have looked exactly like him. Roland McKinnon looked exactly like his daughter, almost to the minute detail. His daughter in question froze at the sight of him.

Roland, noticing Marlene, thanked Rosemerta for his pint and crossed the pub, his eyes never leaving his daughter's face.

Professor Slughorn had once commented on how similar Marlene was to her biological father some time during their third year; he had said they spoke in the same manner and since they were close to identical it was, to him, quite an eerie spectacle to behold. Lily supposed she would soon be able to verify his observation.

'Hello, Marlene.'

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**Let me know what you thought of today's chapter!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I don't know why but it feels like ages since I last posted. I can't believe we're almost at 30 followers. Thank you so much!**

**And with that, I'll leave you with the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

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'I've ordered food for us.' Roland told the two girls unnecessarily. 'I hope you like fish and chips.'

Marlene did not.

'That sounds great.' Lily said, wringing her hands slightly as she forced a smile. 'I'm Lily by the way.'

'Ah, yes. Marlene wrote that you'd be eating with us too.' He nodded jovially and indicated a table at the back of the pub. The girls obliged and he followed, his mead in hand, waving at a few people as he went, who waved back.

'You're very popular.' Lily observed and Roland grinned.

'Oh, the amount of Aurors and ex-Aurors that inhabit these places, you get to know everyone.' he replied casually as they weaved through the clutter of tables.

'Are you an Auror then?' Lily asked interestedly.

'Yes, I am. I'm running for Head Auror actually, now that Fleamont's retiring. I'm up against Alastor Moody but I imagine they'd rather not choose a cripple. He can't go too far on that wooden leg of his.' Roland laughed. Lily didn't know who Moody was and so just nodded vaguely, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Eventually, they reached the table and sat down, Rosemerta appearing out of nowhere to give them their food. Lily ordered a butterbeer for herself and Marlene before turning her attention to their plates. She glanced sideways at Marlene, whose blank face was focused on her battered cod, making her nose wrinkle the smallest of millimetres so that Roland, who was already tucking in to his own meal, noticed nothing.

'You can swap your fish for my chips if you want.' Lily whispered, barely moving her lips. Marlene shook her head, prodding one of the chips on her plate with her fork. 'If you're sure…'

'So, Marlene,' Roland began, looking up from his food, 'what subjects are you taking?'

He directed his gaze at his daughter, who in turn looked at Lily, who nodded hastily.

'She's taking Potions, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures and Charms.' she told him quickly and watched as Roland coughed, his eyebrows raising themselves slightly.

'Only four subjects?' he checked. Lily frowned. 'I took six myself.'

'Marlene's taking one more than the required number.' Lily said coolly. 'And isn't it, as Muggles say, quality over quantity?'

'Muggles say that, do they?' Roland turned his eyes on her. 'Well, I suppose doing four is fine – but it's quite average really. You want to stand out to your future employers.'

'Better to do well in four subjects than to fail six.' Lily said mildly, having noticed Marlene's tight grip on the arms of her chair. 'And Marlene's top of her class in Care of Magical Creatures, aren't you, Marlie?'

Marlene nodded slowly, keeping her gaze on her plate.

'Well, these days it's all about the connections you have. You used to get in on pure talent alone but now it's all about the people you know.'

Lily was tempted to say something nasty about how she imagined the only way Roland had ever achieved anything was through his connections. She bit her tongue, however. This meeting was about Marlene after all, not her and her temper.

'I wouldn't know.' Lily relented and her answer seemed to satisfy Roland.

'Any idea what kind of job you want, Marlene?' Roland asked, returning his full attention to his daughter. As before, Marlene looked to Lily to reply for her.

'She wants to work with unicorns. There's a unicorn sanctuary in the New Forest.'

'Then I might be able to help you get in.' Roland replied, directing his words at Marlene, who didn't acknowledge him. 'I know a few people in the Ministry who specialise in unicorns. I'll write to them tonight.'

Marlene stood up and mumbled something that Lily heard but Roland didn't before leaving the table.

'Toilet.' Lily explained as Roland watched Marlene disappear into the crowd of fellow pub dwellers.

'Ah, right.' Roland took a sip of mead. 'Er, Lily, was it?'

'That's right.'

'Well, I can see you and Marlene are good friends…' he said, putting down his tankard and scratching the back of his head. 'Is she always like this? I mean, she hasn't said a word to me at all.'

'She doesn't like speaking if that's what you mean.' Lily answered, leaning back in her chair to see Roland's entirety much easier. 'And especially in front of people she doesn't know.'

'I – er… I was thinking it might be best if you left us alone for a bit, so that we can get to know each other a little easier.'

'Marlene asked me to come with her.' Lily said firmly, her eyes narrowing.

'And you've come with her – you've done your part. I imagine she was just a little nervous about actually meeting me. Now that she's met me, she'll be fine.'

'She asked me to stay with her.'

'Yes, well, be that as it may, I think your presence is putting her off actually speaking to me. This is a private family matter, so maybe it should be left to the family members only.' Roland had a smile playing about his cheeks that irked Lily; it was a smug smile on a face that looked all too similar to Marlene's. It unnerved her.

'Or maybe,' a voice from behind them suggested, 'it's the fact you brought a _Daily Prophet_ photographer with you that's putting her off.'

Marlene appeared behind Roland, her eyes flashing, groping behind her and thrusting a man with a large camera at her father.

'Next time you want to play happy families to get you further in your career, pester your own family.' Marlene collected her things from her seat at the table and Lily took this as her cue to get up.

'We are family. I'm your father!'

When Marlene next spoke, her voice was so loud that everyone in the pub turned to look.

'_Shagging_ _my mum_ doesn't make you my dad.' She spat on Roland's plate. 'It makes you the bastard who knocked her up and left.'

Marlene grabbed Lily by the hand and pulled her in the direction of the exit. She strode so fast that Lily was forced to jog, not that she minded. Her friend had every right to leave. As Marlene wrenched open the door and the two of them piled out into the February air, a small smile graced Lily's lip. Professor Slughorn really ought to work on new lines to charm his students; Marlene and Roland did not speak similarly at all.

A hacking gasp quickly eclipsed Lily's smile as she turned to see Marlene sobbing and shivering by her side. She bundled her friend over to a nearby bench and hugged her tightly.

'You were amazing, Marlie.' she soothed, watching Mary and Ollie Harris across the street looking at the window display of Madam Puddifoot's. 'I think the whole pub wanted to cheer you as we left.'

Marlene shook her head, still crying.

'I shouldn't – I shouldn't have said anything! I should've kept my mouth shut. I – I –'

'Oh, Marlie, don't think about that now.' Lily said softly, noticing the Marauders up ahead. 'You should be proud of what you did.'

'I'm scared, Lily…' Marlene whispered, and Lily held her closer. 'What if – _remember what he said_… Remember what – what –'

'What can I do to make you smile, Marlie?' she asked, interrupting as Marlene started to shiver, pulling away to smile at her. 'Hm?'

Marlene turned her head, resting it on Lily's shoulder, closing her eyes.

'Obliviate me.'

'Why don't we go to Madam Puddifoot's? We can stuff our faces with cake and forget all about _all of this_.' Lily suggested, her own eyes watering slightly at Marlene's words. Her friend's words resonated with her deeply. 'I think Mary went there with Ollie, but we won't bother them. They'll be too busy gazing at each other, I'm sure.'

Marlene nodded slowly and Lily smiled again. They got up and started to make their way across the street. As soon as they were on the move, the Marauders spotted them, and Sirius began bounding over.

'Are you okay, Marlie?' Lily murmured, glancing sideways at Marlene. 'I can make them go away if you want.'

Marlene shook her head and Lily nodded in understanding. She waved at the boys and they sped up their way over to them.

'Hello, ladies.' Sirius bowed. 'Fancy joining us for lunch.'

'We're going to Madam Puddifoot's.' Lily told him, chuckling at the way Sirius clutched at his heart. 'I hear they do very good cakes.'

'Cakes?' Sirius choked. 'Evans, that's beside the point. The real issue here is that it's Madam Puddifoot's. It's a bit too pink, isn't it?'

He looked around, appealing for someone to agree with him. Remus, who stood beside him, looked at the floor.

'I'm up for it.' Peter piped up. 'Cake is cake.'

'Hear, hear.' James called, clapping him on the back. 'Especially if it means seeing you drowning in pink confetti.'

Lily laughed. Everyone did.

Dorcas wandered onto the high street, her eyes darting about. Spotting Lily, she hurried over and grabbed onto Lily's hands, just as the group were nearing Madam Puddifoot's. Despite how slowly she had entered the village, Dorcas was hyperventilating as she clutched Lily's hands.

'Dorcas?' Lily asked, watching her friend. The only time she had ever seen Dorcas run anywhere it had been when she had been late for Mary's birthday celebration in the Room of Requirement. 'If you're looking for Mary, she's in Madam Puddi–'

'N-not just Mary.' she gasped, doubling over. 'I saw – I saw a – a Death Eater! I saw…'

There was a sudden stillness in the air. They all could sense it; Lily could see it in the way the group seemed to stiffen. Those around them hadn't. The students wandering about the shops were all still laughing and chatting. Only their group was affected. Lily wondered if the others felt as suddenly sick as she did.

Then, a tremor ran down the whole street.

'LILY, GET DOWN!'

And James dived on top of her, just as Madam Puddifoot's exploded.

…

There was a ringing in Lily's head, right at the back, echoing through the foggy darkness. All she knew was pain, pain that focused itself in her right leg, searing angrily. She coughed. Her lungs were filled with dust. Her eyes flickered, trying to discern her surroundings.

Red. Orange. Grey.

Another cough left her, her lungs heavy as they worked to clean themselves. Their contents seemed to push Lily down as she made to move lightly. They resisted her attempt to sit up. But no… That weight came from outside of her body. It was warm. With a great effort, Lily made to feel what was on top of her.

'James!' she croaked, her hand finding another's. 'James, is that you?'

There was no response.

Lily blinked, bringing her gaze into focus. This did little to improve her outlook. There was rubble, debris and gigantic chunks of buildings everywhere. Smoke hung low and thick in the air, so that Lily's lungs regurgitated several more hacking coughs. But it was the flames that really turned Lily's stomach.

Flames licked their way up the remaining structures, illuminating the frail bones of the tea shop in a vivid and malicious red. The fired serpents let out hissing cracks and pops, throwing down smouldering beams and floor boards, sending sparks out into the surrounding area.

Taking a deep, smoke-filled, breath, Lily rolled out from beneath the weight atop her that was indeed James. He was unconscious. Seeing this, Lily moved beside him, noting how her right leg flared furiously whenever she put a little weight on it.

'James!' she cried, coughing and spluttering, shaking him in some kind of vain hope that this might be enough to wake him. 'Oh, Jesus Christ… James, wake up!'

His head lolled hopelessly. Her mind grew panicked. If Dorcas had seen a Death Eater on her way into the village, then they were certainly behind this and there was a huge chance they were still here. And as such, she had to get out of here, with James, and find the others, who would be somewhere in the rubble.

Muggles tried to find a pulse when verifying if a person was alive or not, so Lily tried the same. Her heart sank when she found nothing on his wrist, but she moved onto his neck where she did indeed find a faint thump. She let out a slow breath of air. At least James wasn't dead. Now to revive him…

'_Rennervate_.' Lily murmured, her wand arm shaking. Nothing. She tried again, '_rennervate_.'

James' eyes flickered open.

'What's going on?' he muttered blearily, pushing himself up into a sitting position. The lenses of his glasses were completely smashed. 'Lily?'

'James!' Lily flung her arms around him but pulled back quickly as he grunted, and her own right leg cried at this shift in weight. 'Sorry…'

'It's okay.' he reassured her. 'You just knocked against my head.'

It was then that Lily noticed the gash on his forehead. He must have hit something on his way down.

'Does it hurt?' she asked, biting her lip as she took in how much it was bleeding.

'Only when someone _knocks into it_.' James teased, reaching up to touch his cut and wincing at the blood that came off on his fingers.

'Hang on, I can heal it,' Lily said, moving her wand to point at his forehead. 'Episkey's for minor injuries so it should work.'

'I can do it myself you know.' James told her, smiling slightly, moving her hand out of the way with his own. 'I've healed enough Quidditch injuries.'

A second later and the gash was completely gone, save for the traces of blood that had already dripped down his forehead. James vanished those and got to his feet, holding his hand out for Lily and pulling her up beside him. He smiled reassuringly at her, mending his smashed glasses with a flick of his wand.

'Right,' Lily said, clenching her fist around her wand as her leg flared up again. 'Let's go find the o–'

She broke off as something green and glowing burst into the sky. Her grip on James' hand tightened considerably.

It was a skull, huge and glittering, as if thousands of emeralds had been woven together. The skull rose higher and higher in the sky until it hung directly above the alight, crumbling Madam Puddifoot's. Despite it being just after midday, the greenish light from the skull seemed to out burn the sun, casting the whole remnants of the explosion in its eerie glow.

Lily staggered sideways into James, her right leg giving way to another flash of pain. She felt sick. From the gaping mouth of the skull came a serpent, that protruded from its mouth as if it was a tongue. As the eyes of the 'tongue' glittered, it looked almost alive.

'James, what _is_ that?' Lily whispered, her eyes widening unnaturally. 'What the hell is that?'

'I don't know.' James' face had paled considerably, and his corresponding grip on her hand was just as tight as her own. 'I don't know…'

Something in Lily seemed to change. Perhaps it was the building pain in her leg.

'We've got to find the others. They can't be far…' She glanced around them, peering at the debris for anything that appeared human-like. 'The boys should be together – that's good – and Marlie shouldn't be too far from Dorcas. If we split up, we'll find them – them…'

'Lily?' James nudged her.

Her gaze had been drawn back to the burning, breaking remnants of the tea parlour. The adjacent buildings were in a similar state, the fires kindled by the explosion growing larger and hungrier.

'Oh, God…' Lily brought a hand up to her mouth.

'Lily, what is it? What's wrong?'

'It's – it's Mary,' she choked, staring at Madam Puddifoot's as though she had never seen it before. '_Mary's in there_.'

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**Oh boy, it's a cliffhanger! I'm just so cruel!**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: You join us back in Hogsmeade. Enjoy yourself! Try not to get too lost in the smoke and rubble...**

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Chapter Nineteen

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Everything started happening too fast after that.

Dorcas hurtled out of nowhere, her wand aloft as she charged for the smouldering tea shop. James swore. Death Eaters began Apparating all along the high street, each brandishing a burning torch, the same eerie green as that skull hanging in the sky.

'Dorcas, come back!' Lily yelled after her friend. 'It's not safe!'

Screams rang out across the street. What the explosion had done to coat people in dust, debris and shock had worn off to be replaced with fear. Chaos. Running. People zig-zagged in all directions, leaping between rubble and Death Eaters alike, trying to find some way of escape. Spells flew in all directions, catching their victims, one bowling over a whole group of people with a collective cry of anguish.

'I've got to go after her.' Lily said, her eyes darting about everywhere. 'She'll get herself killed.'

'But what about –'

'Just find the others.' Lily squeezed James' hand before letting go. 'Promise me you'll get out alive.'

'I'll try.' He grinned faintly. 'Good luck.'

'You too.'

She left him, her right leg screeching in protest with each step she took. Ignoring her leg, Lily ploughed on, hobbling at a limping run in the direction of Madam Puddifoot's, at least what remained of it, her eyes trained on Dorcas. Her friend was faster and had paid no heed to her previous shout, not faltering for a second.

'Jesus Christ!' Lily seethed, coughing as she inhaled a mouthful of smoke. Nearer the damaged buildings, the smoke was higher, perfectly at mouth level.

The rubble was getting bigger and more dense as she neared their source so her progress was impeded. She could see Dorcas vanish into the remnants of the tea parlour while she herself was forced to scramble over great chunks of building. Her right leg searing horribly, she was forced to push with only one leg or pull herself over a few more problematic pieces.

Lily had a stitch forming when she finally reached the building. She doubled over for a moment, trying to rid herself of the feeling that her lungs were shrinking. Unfortunately, she didn't have very long to recover.

'Ow – f_u_ck!'

She clutched at her cheek as a Stinging Hex collided with it. Glaring in the direction of the caster, Lily pointed her wand at the black-clad Death Eater and said, '_flippendo_.'

Taking satisfaction in the sound of them falling over, Lily turned back to the burning building, took a slow breath, coughing at the soot it brought with it, and entered. She brought her scarf up to cover her mouth and advanced, her wand held before her, the tip lit, though really that light was unnecessary. There were enough fires burning inside to light her way.

She could hear the beams that remained creaking above her. How long this building would hold she didn't know. Presumably, the building's structure had been strengthened by magic or else the explosion would have destroyed it in its entirety. Despite this, every step she took was a cautious one. Fires burned tall up ahead, stretching right to the ceiling and in many places across it too.

'Dorcas?' Lily tried, spluttering the second she moved her scarf to call out her friend's name.

Lily moved forwards, shifting her scarf to shout every few seconds. It wasn't until she was in the centre of the café that she really took in her surroundings.

There was fire everywhere. Fire and smoke. She stood in the centre of a great prison of orange flames, listening to the loud cracks they made as they devoured the floor and any furniture between her and them. She was frozen. She knew this scene. It was all too familiar.

Tears began to run down her cheeks. She choked on the smoke entering her lungs. Her grip on her wand slackened as she trembled, her eyes soaking in every flame, every flicker of light. It was just like her dream. And she couldn't move, even though she knew how this would go.

Lily heard a purring laugh from behind the crackling fire. Even the flames joined in, laughing at how pathetic she was. She couldn't even run.

'Lily!'

Lily jumped, a strangled cry escaping her lips as Dorcas appeared in front of her.

'You found her?' she asked, her voice cracking. 'Is she – …'

Lily blinked; she had momentarily forgotten why she had run into the burning building in the first place.

'N-no…' Lily croaked, her throat clogged with ash. 'I haven't found her – I was looking for you.'

'Me?'

'Well, both of you.' she amended, her gaze flicking behind Dorcas. She had heard his laugh after all. He was here, she knew it.

'Better keep moving then.' Dorcas said gruffly. 'No sign of her yet.'

Lily's stomach lurched as she took in several bodies. The flames had distracted her from their presence but now that she noticed them, she wondered how she could have missed them in the first place. They were still, too still, as if frozen in time. But she couldn't look away. It only heightened her feeling that he was here; this would be a feast to him.

'Lily,' Dorcas began, her voice barely a whisper, the smoke in the air muffling her further. 'What if she's dead?'

'She's not dead.' Lily replied firmly, tearing her eyes away from the bodies. 'Come on, let's keep looking.'

The two girls moved a little away from each other, their wands trained on the ground.

It was difficult to calm herself, Lily discovered as she scanned her surroundings for any sign of Mary. Deep breaths meant more soot in her lungs, even with her scarf shielding her mouth, so her brain went into a wild panic as it received less and less oxygen. Her leg was hurting more too, so every step became excruciatingly painful; all she could think was that she was becoming easier for Greyback to find.

Lily limped her way around the corner, entering what was once a further seating area. She stopped dead.

Hunched at the far end was a silhouette that made her whole body shake violently. Greyback didn't notice her, or perhaps he did but chose to ignore her. He was preoccupied by the body at his feet; he was biting at some of their arm. She had to stop him. Whoever they were could still be alive. It might not be a full moon, but she never imagined being bitten by a werewolf as a good thing never mind the phase of the moon. She had to fight him. Perhaps if she snuck up behind him or –

'Greyback!' Lily shouted, her conscience overtaking her rationality. 'At least pick on someone who can fight back!'

Slowly, he turned to face her, his teeth bared in a grin that dripped with blood. Lily gripped her wand tightly. He looked exactly how she remembered him. And, by the looks of things, he remembered her too.

'Mudblood.' he greeted, standing up and grinning wider. 'Nice of you to think I might want seconds.'

Greyback took a step towards her. Lily felt herself sinking into the floor, her wand feeling like a useless piece of wood. He didn't even have one to hand and he still managed to root her to the spot. She wanted to be sick.

'Only problem is,' he crooned, advancing on her, 'I like my meat well done.'

He advanced, curling and uncurling his fists as if stretching them, itching to squeeze life out of her. Lily pointed her wand at him, trembling.

'S-_stupefy_.' she stammered. Nothing. No spell even left her wand.

Greyback laughed.

'_Stupefy_.' A jet of red light escaped her wand. A jet of light which he dodged easily. '_Stupefy_!'

Greyback pounced, slamming her sideways against a crumbling, burning wall. Lily screamed as flames spread thick and fast up her sleeve, burning the flesh beneath. She flailed wildly, struggling against him, hitting her fiery arm on him as many times as she could.

As her beating suffocated the flames on her arm, a small fire sprung to life on his robes. Shoving her away from him, Greyback ripped off his burning robes, grinning, his filthy torso now exposed. Having been flung across the room, Lily flung out her non-wand arm to stop herself slamming into the far wall. Her hand met the smouldering beam with a crunch as her wrist broke. She sprung back, the palm of her hand burnt red raw.

Lily glanced down at her now useless left hand. Then she glanced at Greyback, who was watching her, his head cocked to the side, leer in place. He was waiting for her to give up.

And she was about to, she saw no reason to draw out her impending doom, when she saw the body Greyback had bitten earlier stir. For the sake of that life she could not give up. Dorcas could protect herself, she wasn't scared of Greyback, but that person on the floor, whether they were Mary or not, they need Lily to keep fighting.

'Dorcas,' she said loudly, training her wand on Greyback's face. She heard Dorcas creaking in her direction from the other part of the café. 'I've found someone – alive. I don't know if they're Mary, but I need you to get them out of here.'

Lily didn't wait for Dorcas' reply. She tried to ignore how her body shivered and took a tentative step forward.

'_Ebublio_.' she said, sending a large bubble out of her wand. Greyback leapt behind a set of burning furniture so the bubble encased a single table leg.

Dorcas had reached them, and Lily gestured over to where the stirring body lay. Her friend nodded, hurrying over.

'_Reducto_.' The burning furniture was blasted to dust. Greyback began to retreat.

'I don't know why I was so scared of you.' Lily mused as she rounded on him. 'You're not very frightening when I fight back. You –'

Greyback, grinning, sprung off the ground and lunged at her, bringing her with a great thud to the ground so that she lay flat on her back, pinned down by his weight. All her injuries throbbed horribly and she couldn't push him off since one of her wrists was broken and her right leg was useless as well.

'What to have first, Mudblood?' he whispered into her ear, his foul breath spreading across her face. 'I'm generous, you know. I'll eat your favourite part last… So, what part will it be?'

Knowing her left hand was useless, he stopped holding down her left arm and patted his way down her torso, squeezing certain parts on his way down and purring when she squirmed. His hand moved further down, running a finger near the inner of her leg so that it shuddered violently. Then his hand stopped, and he shifted his weight, bringing his head along her body to meet his hand.

'A skirt,' he said softly, glancing at Lily's petrified face, his eyes glinting. 'You know what I love about Muggle clothing, Mudblood? It's so free… so easy to get to what I want.'

His hand crawled its way up her skirt, clawing at her tights, ripping them to shreds. Lily's leg moved upwards of its own accord, her knee meeting his face with a sickening crunch. There was a pause as he let out a furious growl, his nails digging into the inside of her leg.

'_Stupefy_!' Dorcas snarled from behind him, her face contorted with rage. 'You fucking little –'

The jet of red light hit him full in the back and he crumpled forwards, unconscious. Lily scrambled out from beneath him, his nails dragging along her leg as she pulled away.

'You okay?' she asked cautiously, helping Lily to her feet.

Lily nodded, stood still for a moment and then promptly vomited.

'I'm fine.' she said, wiping her mouth a few pauses later. 'Did you get to –'

'It's Mary.' Dorcas supplied, sensing where their conversation would be going. 'We found her.'

'Thank God.' Lily breathed, glancing at where Mary lay, barely conscious, every inch of her with severe burns, but alive. 'Let's levitate her out of here. The sooner we get back to school the better.'

Dorcas nodded.

'Now we've just gotta get her through all of that.' she said, jerking her head at the outside, where fighting raged.

'Somehow.' Lily agreed, biting her lip. 'Hang on, I just want to try this.' She pointed her wand at her broken wrist. 'It might work… _Episkey_.'

It did work and Lily's wrist healed itself. She let out a breath of air, rotating her wrist experimentally. Then she shook herself, a smiling grimace making its way onto her face.

'Right, let's get Mary out of here.'

* * *

**I always love a fight scene. Did you?**

**Make my day and leave a review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Welcome back! I don't know why but I've been so tired lately. I just keep yawning.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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Chapter Twenty

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It was easier said than done to leave. As soon as the building had heard Lily's words, the burning beams began to creak ominously. It wasn't long before the wall behind them gave in and the whole back of the café collapsed, sending a giant, fiery dust cloud in their direction. Grabbing the hand of the levitating Mary, Lily rushed forwards in a limping trot, Dorcas bringing up the rear, her wand on Mary so as to keep her in the air.

They must have looked a strange sight as they barrelled out of the tea shop, moments before the entire thing crumbled. Mary floating with them, particularly once outside with that gigantic green glowing skull casting its light on everything, looked like a strange ghost, her limbs moving strangely as she hung a few metres above the ground.

But of course, being a strange sight was the least of their worries. Lily led the way behind a pile of rubble as the dust cloud that had once been Madam Puddifoot's swelled and grew, sweeping across the surrounding area, rushing over their heads like a billowing gust of wind and burning those caught in its wake with red-hot pieces of building that it managed to bring with it.

'We should find Marlie.' Lily said once the dust cloud had passed. 'James went looking for the others but that doesn't mean he found her.'

'I s'pose.' Dorcas peaked over the mound of rubble they hid behind. 'She can't've been far from where I was when Madam Puddifoot's exploded.'

Mary let out a rather pitiful moan. Lily glanced at her.

'Listen, Dorcas, I don't think it would be a good idea to bring Mary. We need to get her back to the castle.'

'But what about Marlie?'

'_I'll_ go find her. You get Mary back to school.'

Dorcas was silent for a moment, continuing to look out over the mound. She watched a Death Eater blast their opponent so that they fell with a rather horrible crunch into a pile of rubble.

'Fine.' she relented, leaning around Mary's floating body to hug Lily tightly. 'Don't die, will you?'

'Same to you.' Lily closed her eyes briefly before pulling out of Dorcas' hug. 'I'll see you later.'

Gripping her wand tightly, reassuring herself of its existence, Lily climbed on top of the rubble mound, her eyes searching. Of course, there was a chance that James had found Marlene and that she was on her way back to the castle. Despite that chance, Lily didn't want to risk the fact that Marlene might still be out in the chaos of Hogsmeade high street somewhere.

She jumped down to the original street level, wincing at the force on her right leg, and hurried along a gap in rubble, her wand held before her. Duels raged all around her, none of them involving Marlene, and she was forced to dodge several spells that came her way, whether on purpose of by accident. Soon, however, a Death Eater noticed her alone and made a beeline for her.

'_Tarantallegra_.' Lily muttered, sending a jinx at his feet. Unfortunately, she missed, only managing to enrage her opponent.

Green light sped straight towards her and she stumbled backwards, falling over and landing in a sitting position, watching the spell zip over her head. Swearing as pain shot up her spine, Lily gingerly got to her feet, looking about for the caster of her spell. They were now feet from her. She didn't have time for this. She needed to find Marlene.

They started to draw a strange rune in the air with their wand. She didn't want to wait to find out what it did. Rolling out of the way, Lily got gingerly to her feet, wincing slightly.

'_Ducklifors_.' she said, trying the first incantation that popped into her head.

Preoccupied by their own spell casting, the bright pink light streaking out of her wand managed to hit its target. Lily would admit that she was not top of her class in Transfiguration, perhaps somewhere in the middle, but, as she watched a beak morph its way onto the Death Eater's face alongside a few stray feathers, she wondered if she ought to be at the bottom.

There was a squawk of rage from her opponent, but Lily was already hurrying off in the opposite direction. She cast a haphazard Impediment Jinx over her shoulder, taking the indignant cluck she heard to mean she had met her mark.

'Now, back to Marlie…' she murmured to herself, her eyes darting about for any sign of her friend.

Her eyes on the other side of the street, seeing the smashed windows of the Three Broomsticks, Lily sped up into a limping trot, thinking Marlene might gravitate towards something more recognisable than remain in the rubble. With this thought in her head, Lily grew a little distracted by her goal, paying little attention to where she ran.

She slammed into someone as she reached the other side of the street, her mouth banging into the shoulder as they collided. The metallic tang of iron entered her mouth as she staggered backwards, Lily wiped her mouth, trying not to recoil at how blood smeared across her hand and cheek.

'Sorry about that.' Whoever she had knocked into had a very gravelly voice. 'But you came out of nowhere.'

'I wasn't looking.' Lily said, tightening her grip on her wand. She didn't know if her company was friendly or not. 'Sorry.'

She gasped as they grabbed her by the face, forcing it upwards to look them in the eye as they directed their wand light right into her eyes. Squinting as her eyes started watering, Lily struggled against their grip.

'Get off me!' she rasped, blood congealing with saliva. 'Get off, you –'

'Name.' they commanded as she tried to kick them to free herself. Her left foot collided with something solid.

'I'm not that fucking stupid.' she snapped, letting out a hiss of pain as her toes crumpled. '_Relashio_.'

They swore as red-hot sparks relinquished their grip. Lily clenched her teeth and elbowed them in the chest, bringing her weight with her so that they both fell to the ground, her on top.

'What's my name to you?' she asked, jabbing her wand into their neck, taking in their appearance for the first time. A man in his late forties or early fifties wearing a set of dark purple robes. He was stronger than her, much stronger, and with her right leg being the way it was, she would never be able to hold him down for long. Of course, he didn't know that.

'Plucky, aren't you?' the man chuckled, though with his voice being so deep it might well have been a growl. Lily's eyes narrowed, pressing her wand harder against his neck. 'Your name is the difference between me letting you go and me locking you up for a stint in Azkaban.'

'Oh, really?' A slight grin worked its way onto his face as she glowered. 'And what puts you in the position to do that?'

'I'm an Auror – soon to be Head Auror.' he added, watching her face.

'Alastor Moody…' Lily murmured, remembering what Roland had said earlier that day. That would certainly explain why his leg had felt so solid when she kicked it; it was made of wood. She slackened the pressure of her wand on his neck. 'I know who you are.'

'That's right. I'm about as far from being a Death Eater as it gets.' He made to push her off him so that he could get up, but she shook herself, bringing her wand back onto him.

'That doesn't mean anything. It's not hard for a wizard to fake something, is it? I imagine you know all about Polyjuice Potion, Auror or not.'

'Well, you've got no way of exposing me if I am lying.' he told her, this time actually pushing her off him and standing up. Lily followed suit, her wand still trained on him.

'As if that's a reason to trust you.' Lily countered and he shrugged, turning his back on her to look around. 'I –' she faltered as he held up a hand to silence her, staring at their surroundings.

'They've gone…' he said, his gruff voice showing just a hint of apprehension. 'They've all gone…'

And Moody was right. As Lily glanced around her, she saw that all fighting had stopped so suddenly that those once defending themselves had fallen silent in shock. All along the street there were baffled people, including at least twenty more wizards and witches in dark purple robes, just like Moody's, and they too shared his sudden concern. The silence was strangely heavy, weighing down on Lily, making her nervous.

Then there was a scream.

A huge fire had burst into existence on the other end of the street. It spread thick and fast, slithering towards where Lily stood at a terrifying speed. She let out a strangled gasp. She could see shapes in the fire. Creatures. The fire had the face of a serpent.

'GET OUT!' Moody roared at her, shoving her in front of him, away from the fire. 'GET OUT OF HERE!'

Lily did not need telling twice. She sprinted off, at least her injured equivalent of a sprint, getting dragged into a whole current of students and locals haring for the lane up to the castle. Jostled this way and that, Lily's brain started to catch up with her and she realised she still hadn't found Marlene.

Turning full circle, Lily began to fight her way through the shouting, panicked crowed, hastily scanning faces for her friend.

'Marlie!' she called out as she battled against the current. 'Marlie!'

Every step she took seemed to be useless. The mass of people continued to pull her with them no matter how hard she ran.

'For fuck's sake!' she snarled through gritted teeth, elbowing her way through a group of fifth years, all screaming hysterically. Deciding it would be a good idea to just leave the throng now, rather than battle her way to the end, Lily dived out of the side, landing on a small stone wall that marked the entrance to Hogsmeade. It was also acting as an excellent funnel for the frightened people running past her. There was now a patch free of people.

Lily's eyes fell on the completely collapsed Madam Puddifoot's and mentally kicked herself. Marlene had been practically beside her before the explosion, it was James diving on her that had separated them, and they hadn't been very far from the tea shop. Her friend had to be there, buried in the rubble, or if she wasn't, then Lily would know she had made it back to the castle.

Jumping off the wall with a soft thud, Lily made her way through the people-less patch, her destination in sight. As she ran, she tried to ignore the gigantic fire in the corner of her eye that was inching closer and closer, despite the purple clad wizards' attempts to extinguish it.

She was so focused on reaching her goal that she tripped over a pair of legs sticking out from the rubble, flinging up her arms so that her face wasn't crushed by the said rubble as she fell onto it. She collided with the rubble, serenaded by the sound of breaking wood.

'Jesus Christ…' she groaned, gingerly pushing herself up off the rubble. 'Fucking hell…'

Then she remembered the feet she had tripped over and hastened to clear the rubble. Lily recognised the shoes, not that that surprised her.

'_Reducto_.' she said, blasting the rubble atop her friend to smithereens. It took several more blasts before Marlene was free and when she was, Lily rushed to lift her.

Even if Lily hadn't been injured herself, she would have found supporting an unconscious body difficult. Slumped over Lily's shoulder, Marlene was like a sack of potatoes, her head lolling hopelessly. To the side of her, Lily could see the Aurors retreating towards them as the fire grew closer.

Her heart rate picked up in some desperate attempt to aid her escape but, with Marlene on her back, every step Lily took merited another few seconds pause to regain balance, breath and energy. Her brain was swimming, her vision going in and out of focus, her leg searing horribly. But she ploughed on, slowly and steadily, the fire roaring to the side of her forcing her to keep going. She had to get out for Marlene's sake.

She would get out. She had to. Lily was the doomed one, not Marlene, and she wouldn't condemn her friend to that fate. That was not how things were meant to be.

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**Ladies and gentlemen, Alastor Moody has entered the chat! Honestly, he's up there as one of my favourite Harry Potter characters.**

**Anyway, make my day and leave a review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Welcome back! We're straight back into the drama - well, smoke I guess. I just feel sorry for everyone's poor lungs.**

**Anyway, I'm sure you're dying to keep reading. I won't stop you!**

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Chapter Twenty-One

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The fire was much closer now and, judging by its speed, Lily was sceptical that she could make it to the lane up to the school before the flames engulfed her and Marlene. She considered using magic to throw Marlene to safety. Someone would find her eventually, they would be looking for survivors, and there were plenty of spells Lily could use to cushion her friend's fall.

'What're you still doing here?' a voice thundered from behind her, distracting her. Moody.

'Getting my friend.' Lily replied stoutly, continuing to shuffle towards her destination since she was so slow she might as well have remained stationary.

'I can see that.' he growled, easily stumping in front of her. 'But you need to get out of here. You'll get yourself killed otherwise.'

'Really?' Lily said through gritted teeth, adjusting her grip on Marlene and taking another step. 'Are all Aurors this clever or is it just you?'

The fire had moved another metre forward. The faces Lily had seen in it before were now discernible from the inferno powering them. It was time to carry out her idea.

Carefully, Lily laid Marlene down on the ground, ignoring the furious growl from the Auror and pointed her wand at her friend. Slowly, she levitated Marlene in the air and then, with a whip-like motion, sent her tearing through the air and towards the safety of the lane. Instinct told her to look away, but Lily had to know when to cushion Marlene's fall. She slowed Marlene's descent so that her friend landed gently on the ground, unscathed.

'Not bad.' Moody said approvingly before gripping Lily by the shoulder and starting to drag her in the same direction as Lily had thrown Marlene.

'What kind of fire is that?' Lily asked as she stumbled alongside Moody. 'It's got faces.'

'You mean you don't know what Fiendfyre is? What do they teach kids these days?'

'Not enough apparently.' Lily muttered, more to herself than to anyone else, thinking of how basic her spells had been in the fighting.

'What's that?'

'Nothing.' she dismissed, wishing he wasn't quite so fast. Of course, she didn't want to be burned by the Fiendfyre but she was really struggling with her injuries to keep up with him. 'So, this Fiendfyre, can you stop it? I mean, it looks like it's cursed or something.'

'We're trying to contain it to the high street. It'll burn itself out by tomorrow morning if we're lucky.'

'Is that all? What about putting it out yourselves?' Lily banged her leg on a large chunk of wood but was spared from falling over by Moody's insanely strong grip on her shoulder. She wondered briefly if there was a chance he would crush it. 'There are probably still people trapped in there. I doubt everyone managed to get out.'

'There's nothing else we can do.' Moody told her gruffly and she stared at him.

'I think I can make it on my own, thanks.' Lily wrenched herself out of his grip, her shoulder protesting loudly. She strode off, ignoring how all of her body ached, spurred on by her sudden fury.

…

When Lily reached the school, she was caked in sweat, the only thing still making her haul Marlene over her shoulder being her own pride. She could have turned around and asked Moody to help her, he had followed her the whole way but at a distance. Levitating Marlene was, however, out of the question. There was a chance that some Death Eaters had decided to lurk along the path, and she would need her wand to defend them if that was the case.

Fortunately, she didn't come across any Death Eaters and the school gates creaked open, allowing her entrance without any problems. Rather stiffly, she nodded behind her at Moody and then slipped into the school grounds, lugging Marlene behind her. As the gates banged shut behind her, Lily put Marlene down, only to levitate her a second later. She wouldn't need to defend herself any more.

With Marlene floating beside her, Lily made her way to Hagrid's hut, seeing smoke was coming out of the chimney. An involuntary smile made its way onto her face and she rushed forwards, knocking loudly on his front door. Hagrid opened the door.

'Lily!' Hagrid pulled her into a bone crunching hug. 'Yer all righ'!'

'Yes, yes I'm fine.' Lily gasped as he let go, inhaling all the air that had been deprived from her during his hug.

'They're all up at the school o' course. Ruddy Death Eaters! When I saw they was all runnin' back up here – screamin' and shakin' – I knew they wasn't far behind.' Hagrid said darkly as he took in Marlene floating behind Lily. 'Yeh'd better get her ter the hospital wing.'

'Can you come with me?' Lily asked softly. She wanted the company of a familiar face, one she knew she could trust. 'I don't really want to go alone.'

''Course I will.'

Hagrid's eyes crinkled into a smile. He shrugged on his coat and then closed the door behind him. Carefully, he took Marlene's levitated body out of the air and carried her in his arms instead. Lily walked beside him, recalling how, when she had stepped off the Hogwarts Express for the first time, she had been terrified of Hagrid's massive form. Watching him gently cradle her friend, Lily could smile. She didn't know anyone she trusted more than Hagrid.

'Did you see that skull thing?' Lily asked as they made their way up to the castle. 'I don't know if you can see it from here.'

'I didn' see no skull.' Hagrid replied, glancing at her. 'O' course, can' see much from me hut.'

'I suppose not.' she agreed. 'Well, it was huge – still is – a great big green skull. It's just hanging there in the sky. I've never seen anything like it before. And then the Death Eaters set Fiendfyre on the whole high street!'

'Galopin' gorgons! Fiendfyre?' Hagrid tensed. 'Down in the village?'

'Yes, and the Aurors are letting it burn itself out.' Lily clenched her fists. 'That's what Moody said… There are people still in the rubble, Hagrid! In Madam Puddifoot's, when Dorcas and I got Mary out, there were other bodies in there and Marlene can't have been alone outside either.'

'Lily, sommat yeh gotta learn is tha' yeh can' save everyone.' He told her sadly as they neared the front steps. 'Yeh've done more'n enough jus' getting' Marlene out an' all. Don' go blamin' yerself fer sommat yeh can' change.'

'But – but they didn't even try! They –'

'How d'yeh know?' Hagrid challenged, interrupting her. 'Trust me, Lily. Them Aurors know their stuff. They wasn't chosen fer nothin'. Fiendfyre's terrible stuff – yeh can' jus' put it out. That needs curse breakers an' all sorts. Best yeh can do is trap it.'

'Still.' Lily started to protest but then stopped at the light chuckle that escaped Hagrid's lips.

'Yer too much o' a Gryffindor.' he said fondly, adjusting his hold on Marlene so that he could pat Lily on the back. Unfortunately for Lily, the force that Hagrid judged to be gentle proved enough to almost knock her injured self over. Thankfully, they were just entering the Entrance Hall so the hospital wing wasn't far away.

'Are you saying that's a bad thing?' Lily asked wryly.

Hagrid just chuckled.

…

'Come on, Dorcas.' Lily said gently a hours later, shaking her friend awake as she slumped by Mary's bedside, snoring. 'Come on, I'll stay with her. You need to go to bed.'

Dorcas tried to protest, mumbling sleepily, but Lily simply chivvied her in the direction of the hospital wing door and after a while she gave in. With Dorcas gone, Lily returned to Mary's bed, which, on the other side, was pushed up against Marlene's bed. In fact, there were many beds crammed into the hospital wing. A great deal of the village were taking refugee here, many were injured, and Madame Pomfrey had told her the Great Hall had also been filled with beds.

Sighing, Lily eased herself onto the floor at the foot of the beds her friends resided in. She had let Madame Pomfrey heal her toes and drank a potion to heal any burns or scratches but that had done nothing to help the aching of her right leg. Not that she told anyone. Lily coaxed herself into ignoring pain with a promise to herself that she would brew a painkilling in the morning. Tonight, she would watch her friends.

A yawn escaped her.

'You'll want some of this.' Lily couldn't help but smile at the sound of James' voice. 'I find it helps get through the night shift. I've had a lot of practice with Remus.'

She lifted her gaze to him, accepting the bottle of Pepper-Up Potion he offered her. Raising the bottle to her lips, Lily took a sip. James took a seat on the floor beside her.

'Yeah, I'm on the night shift.' Lily said, taking another sip of potion and then placing the bottle on the floor. 'The others have already had their turn. I pulled the short straw. Well, Dorcas would have stayed here if she could keep her eyes open.'

'Y'know, I don't get her at all. I mean, she was the one yelling at Mary that she was a Death Eater – and that was only this morning.' Lily shook her head slightly.

'It's complicated.' she said, resting her head back against the bed. 'There was a misunderstanding… Dorcas doesn't know the whole story… Mary doesn't want to tell her what really happened…'

'Girl drama. I'll never understand you lot.'

Lily laughed quietly.

'They're best friends. It takes a lot to change that.' Lily smiled at him. 'I'm sure you understand.' She nodded her head over to where Sirius and Remus lay asleep in their hospital beds, Peter fast asleep in the chair in between them.

'But she called Mary a Death Eater –'

'Well, more than best friends then.' Lily amended, and James stared at her.

'You mean that –'

'In the future maybe.' She grinned to herself. 'Don't tell Dorcas I said that. She doesn't know that I know.'

'And what about Mary?'

'_Blind as a mole_.'

James echoed her grin, nudging her lightly. She turned to him, cocking her head to the side.

'What?' she asked, amusement twitching in the corners of her mouth.

'I was just wondering if you're planning to set them up.'

Lily faced changed.

'Don't meddle, Mrs Evans.' she said sternly. 'We've got enough stressful things in our lives as it is. If it's meant to happen it will happen.'

'I s'pose.' James rested his head on her shoulder, pretending to yawn. 'Even if it's boring.'

'They're not just there for your entertainment.' Lily chided, chuckling.

'True, but you have to admit watching Sirius go after Marlene's bloody hilarious.'

Lily tilted her head slightly, so it leaned against the top of James head. It felt so nice to sit here and talk about trivial things. It was calming and warmed her heart, soothing her right leg's ache.

'You know, I'm not sure how much she actually likes him. I think she was more keen in the beginning, I don't know about now.' Lily mused thoughtfully. She wondered if Marlene would perhaps be more receptive to Sirius by now if her biological father had never contacted her. Concerning herself with the matter of fancying someone must have seemed quite pointless in comparison.

'Don't tell him that. He'll be gutted.'

'Will he?' Lily's forehead creased slightly. 'I'm sure he would get over it eventually…'

'Fair enough. He's not in love or anything.' James agreed and then snorted.

'What's so funny?'

'Sorry – I just tried to imagine Sirius in love…'

Lily grinned.

'Somehow the two don't seem to go together.'

'That's Sirius all right… the lone wolf.'

They were silent for a moment, comfortable to just sit in one another's company. After the chaos in Hogsmeade, sitting still was quite welcome. All around them were the soft snores of the hospital wing's inhabitants. Moonlight flowed in through a far window. It was quite beautiful. Lily could almost forget everything that had happened. Almost.

'You okay, Lily?' James asked, reaching out to take her hand. 'After everything I mean – not just from right now…'

'It just made me think, you know?' Lily replied softly, admiring how the moonlight made Madame Pomfrey's cabinet of potions glitter. 'I know what I need to do.'

'And what's that?' James sounded bemused.

'Become better – at duelling – at healing – at _everything_. What we learn in lessons isn't enough… I need to do more. I need to learn more.' Lily lifted her head from his, her eyes glistening with a sudden energy. 'Do you think McGonagall would tutor me? I came across a record of Hogwarts duelling champions once in third year. She led the Hogwarts duelling team to victory in an international tournament… _three times_.'

'Maybe,' James began, raising his head off his shoulder to look at her, a lopsided grin on his face. 'If I ask her for tutoring too…'

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**Hi, it's me.**

**I just wanted to say that this is the last chapter of _A Doomed Existence_. No, it's not the end of the story but I'm just tired of writing it. I'm kind of bored with it. I've got other story ideas and I can't get myself to enjoy writing this one anymore. Honestly, I started hating it sometimes so I think it's time to stop.**

**Maybe I'll do a rewrite one day or just keep going with this one - but I make no promises.**

**But I'd still love to know what you thought of this chapter, of this story, anything!**


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